


Indelible

by NoPerson



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Mild Language, Multi, POV Alternating, Re-write, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2019-12-25 12:10:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 60,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18261011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoPerson/pseuds/NoPerson
Summary: Forced together by unforeseen circumstances, the Paladins of Voltron are ready to face any challenge that comes their way. Learning to work with each other won't be easy, but with the fate of the entire universe resting on their shoulders, it's what they have to do.This is a re-write for the entirety of Voltron where characters are given the respect they deserve.





	1. The Rise of Voltron

Lance’s grip on the steering stick in front of him tightens, his nerves making his hands shake and sweat drip down his neck. He wants to reach up and wipe it away, but he knows he’s being watched and he would rather suffer than break his calm exterior.

He smirks when he sees Kerberos through the screen. “Galaxy Garrison flight log 5-11-14. Begin descent to Kerberos for rescue mission." He jerks the stick to the right, biting back a laugh at the groan it coaxes out of Hunk.

His friend sits behind him in the same flight suit, the only difference being the yellow headband wrapped around his head. “Augh, Lance, can’t you keep this thing straight?”

A joke almost bubbles from his lips but he bites his tongue to keep it in, knowing that somewhere out there Iverson is keeping a close eye on him. “Relax, Hunk, I'm just getting a feel for the stick. I mean it's not like I did this!”

He yanks the stick to the left. “Or this!” He yanks it back to the right, relenting when he hears Hunk groan again.

“Unless you want to wipe my guts out of all the little nooks and crannies in this thing, you'd better knock it off, man!" Hunk threatens, cutting off with another groan.

A beep sounds to Lance’s right and he hears Pidge clear his throat. “We've picked up a distress beacon!”

Lance grins, adrenaline rushing through his veins in expectation. “All right, look alive, team! Pidge, track coordinates.” So far, so good.

“Copy.” Pidge affirms and follows through.

The ship rumbles though Lance’s steering is still true. Hunk wails from behind him, “Knock it off, Lance, please!”

Lance shakes his head and looks back to where Hunk is suffering. “This one's on you, buddy. We've got a hydraulic stabilizer out.”

Hunk pulls out a monitor and sighs. “Oh no-” He cuts himself off with a gag and slaps a hand over his mouth.

Lance wrinkles his nose at the sight of Hunk holding in his vomit. “Fix now, puke later!”

"I lost contact. The shaking is interfering with our sensors." Pidge pipes up from his station.

“Come on, Hunk!” Lance urges.

There’s beeping as Hunk tries to use his monitor. “It's not responding.” He unbuckles his belt and falls to the floor, crawling across the metal to pull open a panel.

Before him, Lance’s own monitor activates and he sighs in relief. “Oh, never mind, fellas. Thar she blows. Preparing for approach on visual.”

“I don't think that's advisable with our current mechanical and... gastrointestinal issues.” Pidge says, pausing at the mention of Hunks problem.

Hunk holds back another gag. “Agreed.”

Lance growls in frustration and urges the ship onward. He doesn’t need their concerns, he just needs to get this done. “Stop worrying. This baby can take it. Can't you, champ?” He pats the ship who apparently didn’t get the memo and rumbles ominously. “Uh, see? She was—she was nodding. She was nodding. Pidge, hail down to them and let them know their ride is here.”

Pidge sighs but doesn’t argue. He undoes his belt and rises to send out a message. “Attention lunar vessel—ah!” A violent jolt from the ship sends him careening to the floor with a painful thump.

Lance winces in sympathy and hopes he didn’t hit his head too hard. “What are you doing? Buckle your belt. And Hunk, stop that shaking!”

The ship continues to shake and Hunk braces himself against the open panel. “I’m try—oh no.” He finally lets loose his guts into the panel.

Pidge is finally contacting the vessel, this time safely strapped to his seat. “Attention lunar vessel, this is Galaxy Garrison Rescue Craft One Victor Six Three Tango. Coming in for landing and extraction.” He pauses for a moment before continuing the message in a lower voice. “Against crew recommendations.”

Lance scowls. “No time for your mutinous comments now, Pidge. They’re going under and we’re going in.” He pushes the stick forward and the ship responds, falling into a steep dive that makes him brace his legs against the panel in front of him despite his seatbelt. 

“Look out for the overhang!” Pidge shouts.

Lance notices it, but he doesn’t adjust his course. He knows what happens next but maybe, just maybe this time he’ll make it through and show how great a pilot he is. Just like the dropout used to do. “No worries! My first year in flight school, you know what they called me? They called me 'The Tailor' because of how I thread the needle.” He doesn’t know who he’s trying to convince more at this point. The ship is getting closer to the overhang and he can tell it’s going to be a tight fit, if even a fit at all. “Come on, come on-”

A loud ripping sound comes from the side as the ship jolts. “We lost a wing!” Hunk cries, pointing out the obvious.

Lance sighs, staring at the screen as he accepts his fate. “Oh, man.”

The screen goes black with a final rumble, holding the simulator in silence for a moment before the screen flashes with the red words he hates more than anything, repeated out loud by the computer. “Simulation failed.”

“Nice work, Tailor.” Pidge scoffs. Lance flinches and sinks down in his seat.

The door at the back opens, flooding the simulator with light as Iverson summons them. “Roll out, donkeys.”

They shuffle out one by one, with Hunk sprinting out first and hovering over the nearest trashcan to relieve the rest of his gut. Pidge manages to glare at both Lance and Iverson on his way out, though Lance wants to point out he wasn’t the only one who messed up. He leaves last, avoiding Iverson’s harsh gaze as he falls in line with the angry Pidge and recovering Hunk.

Their classmates stand before them, the next group dressed and ready for their turn. Lance doesn’t look at any of them, afraid of sneering whispers being placed to smug faces. 

Iverson paces in front of them, arms behind his back and posture straight as he berates them. “Well let's see if we can't use this complete failure as a lesson for the rest of you students. Can anyone point out the mistakes these three so-called cadets made in the simulator?”

“The engineer puked in the main gearbox!” One student points out. Lance feels Hunk cower next to him and mentally promises to hug him once they’re away from the scrutiny.

Iverson scoffs. “Yes, as everyone knows, vomit is not an approved lubricant for engine systems. What else?”

“The Comm Spec removed his safety harness.” Another student says, making Pidge tense on Lance’s other side.

“The pilot crashed!” Someone else calls out. If Lance weren’t so embarrassed, he’d probably laugh at them pointing out the obvious.

Iverson nods. “Correct. And worst of all, the whole jump, they're arguing with each other! Heck, if you're going to be this bad individually, you'd better at least be able to work as a team!” All three of them flinch. “Galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of elite astroexplorers, but these kind of mental mistakes are exactly what cost the lives of the men on the Kerberos Mission.”

“That’s not true, sir!” Pidge protests. 

Lance internally winces. Any mention of the Kerberos Mission tends to set Pidge off, no matter the situation. A couple of gossiping cadets and a superior officer were no different in Pidge’s eyes when it came to the failed mission.

Iverson frowns and leans in. “What did you say?”

Thinking on his feet, Lance clasps his hands over Pidge’s mouth, but he can still feel the shorter boy attempting to rant even with the restraints. “Sorry, sir! I think he may have hit his head when he fell out of his chair. But point taken.”

Iverson turns his cold stare to Lance, who shrinks back in anticipation of another lecture. “I hope I don't need to remind you that the only reason your here is that the best pilot in your class had a discipline issue and flunked out. Don't follow in his footsteps.” Iverson pulls away as Lance stares at the floor. “Next!”

The next three cadets file into the simulator, officially signaling the end of their dressing-down. Pidge pushes Lance’s hands away from his mouth with a glare. “Let me go!” He stomps off, not bothering to stick around and watch the next group. Lance can’t really blame him, he wasn’t planning on sticking around either.

He and Hunk walk off in the direction of their room. At some point, Hunk puts his hand on Lance’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t listen to him, man, Iverson’s always had it out for you.”

Lance sighs and runs a hand down his face. “I know, but is he wrong though? The only reason I’m even a fighter pilot is because he left, do I even deserve it?”

“Of course you do!” Hunk exclaims. “You work harder than any other pilot here! Everyone has off days, Iverson’s just trying to throw you off. Don’t let it get to you.”

Lance smiles, but he still doesn’t believe Hunk’s words. “Thanks, man.”

They change back in their room, Lance throwing the flight suit to a far corner for him to deal with later. He doesn’t want any reminder of their abysmal simulation near him. 

Thankfully, the simulator was their last thing to do for the day so they have free time. Hunk gets enveloped in some complicated engineering homework at his desk, mumbling under his breath as his pencil scratches across the paper at top speeds. Lance tries to follow suit, but he can’t get Iverson’s words out of his head long enough to finish more than a couple of algebra problems. When he lifts his head from the doodle of a ship he’d been working on, it looks like nighttime outside their room. Hunk has his lamp turned on now, casting eerie shadows across the floor. 

Lance stands up and stretches, unable to sit still. He grins. “Hey, Hunk, wanna head out tonight?”

Hunk stops his work and looks up at him, biting his lip as he weighs his options. Lance must manage to make a convincing enough pout because Hunk sighs, closes his textbook, and stands up as well. “Fine, as long as it’s nothing crazy and we don’t get caught.”

Lance waves a dismissive hand. “Please, I’m a master of stealth.”

Hunk doesn’t look convinced, but he doesn’t protest further so Lance considers it a win.

They sneak along the corridors, avoiding Iverson’s call for curfew and the various patrolling guards by hiding behind trashcans.

Hunk starts losing his nerve around the second turn. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Come on, Hunk, it’ll be fine.” Lance checks around a corner before moving on. “Besides, you heard Commander Iverson, we need to bond as a team! We can grab Pidge, hit the town, loosen up. The dude definitely needs it!”

“Okay,” Hunk sighs, trailing a few feet behind Lance as he twiddles his fingers. “I'm just saying this here, right now, on the record: This is a bad idea.”

Lance grins. “You know, for someone in a space exploration program, you don't have much of a sense of adventure.”

Hunk groans. “All of your little 'adventures' end up with me in the principal's office.”

When they turn the next corner, a door opens down the hall. Lance holds up a hand, signaling for Hunk to stop while he sees who it is. To his surprise, it’s Pidge, closing the door to Iverson’s office with a backpack.

Lance squints as Pidge runs off. “What’s he doing?”

He follows after him, keeping enough distance that Pidge can’t see them when he pauses to check his surroundings. Eventually, he goes through a door to the stairwell leading to the roof. Lance waits a minute before he follows, dragging Hunk along for the ride.

On the roof, Pidge is sitting with a bunch of fancy equipment set up, headphones on as he listens to something. Lance doesn’t worry about the door closing loudly, though Hunk jumps, Pidge clearly can’t hear anything.

He creeps up behind him, pulling away the headphone and whispering, “You come up here to rock out?” 

Pidge yelps, pulling away and staring at the two of them in shock. “What? No, just looking at the stars.”

Lance raises an eyebrow, surveying Pidge’s equipment. Hunk seems to have taken an interest in it as well, looking over it very closely. “Where'd you get this stuff? It doesn't look like Garrison tech.”

Pidge smirks. “I built it.”

Hunk stares in awe, reaching a hand forward to touch it. “You built all this?”

Pidge frowns and slaps his hand away. “Stop it! With this thing, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system.”

“All the way to Kerberos?” Lance asks. Pidge averts his gaze and doesn’t respond, but Lance gets the idea. “You go ballistic every time the instructors bring it up. What's your deal?”

Hunk’s hand is sneaking towards the equipment again, which Pidge must have a sixth sense for. “Second warning, Hunk.”

“Look, Pidge,” Lance sighs. “if we're going to bond as a team, we can't have any secrets.” Lance doesn’t want to keep pushing in case Pidge pulls away again, but all of the fancy equipment combined with his behavior is suspicious.

Pidge sighs. “Fine.” He turns to the laptop. “The world as you know it is about to change. The Kerberos Mission wasn't lost because of some malfunction or crew mistake—"

Hunk reaches out a tentative one last time before Pidge finally loses his temper. “Stop touching my equipment!”

Hunk sits back, still staring longingly at the tech but keeping his distance. Pidges watches him for a few more seconds before continuing. “So I've been scanning the system and picking up alien radio chatter.”

Hunk’s mouth falls open. “Woah, what? Aliens?”

As much as Lance would love to believe Pidge, he’s too tired to be anything but skeptical. “Okay, so you’re insane. Got it.”

Pidge glares up at him. “I’m serious. They keep repeating one word.” He holds up a notepad with a rough scribble of what appears to be a robot holding a flaming sword. “Voltron. And tonight, it's going crazier than I have ever heard it.”

Lance raises an eyebrow. “How crazy?”

Before Pidge can respond, alarms start blaring, startling all three of them. The intercom crackles to life, amplifying Iverson’s voice all across campus. “Attention, students. This is not a drill. We are on lockdown! Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: All students are to remain in barracks until further notice.”

The three of them look at each other, all uneasy. Hunk looks like he’s about to burst with the amount of nerves he’s containing. Lance is starting to get less skeptical by the second. 

As if reading his doubtful thoughts, a flaming comet appears in the sky. Lance squints at it to try and get a good look, but it’s too bright and far away to look like anything but a fiery blob.

“What's going on?” Hunk asks no one in particular. “Is that a meteor? A very, very big meteor?” He sounds uncertain about his own analysis. 

Pidge picks up a pair of binoculars from his mess of equipment and points it to the sky. He gasps. “It’s a ship!”

Lance rips away Pidge’s binoculars, ignoring his protests, and looks for himself. Sure enough, there’s a ship hurtling towards the planet. But it’s nothing that Lance has seen before. “Holy crow! I can't believe what I'm seeing! That's not one of ours!”

“It’s one of theirs.” Pidge says. Lance doesn’t like the sound of that.

“So, wait,” Hunk starts, hands wringing in front of him while he processes the situation. “There really are aliens out there?”

The watch as the ship lands in the desert. Barely even seconds after it touches down, vehicles rush out from the Garrison to meet it, sending up towers of sand in their wake. Lance itches the follow, adrenaline running through his veins at the prospect of seeing aliens.

Thankfully, Pidge seems to have the same idea. He rises with his laptop and rushes to the stairs. “We’ve gotta see that ship!”

Lances follows. “Come on, Hunk!”

Hunk is hesitant, but he still trails behind, muttering under his breath about bad of an idea this is.

They manage to find a short cliff above the Garrison’s setup by the ship, not even fifty feet high. They lie on their stomachs, keeping hidden while still being able to spy.

Lance lifts the binoculars back to his face and observes the camp. There’s a temporary tent set up, a testament to the Garrison’s efficiency, with the flaps closed and the alien ship resting behind.

“What the hell is that thing?” He mumbles, zooming in on it. There’s a perimeter of guards both in front of the tent and surrounding the ship. Lance’s chest sinks with the thought of not being able to get close. 

“Bummer,” Hunk says, clearly not disappointed they can’t closer. “Guess there’s too many guards. Oh well! We should just head back to the barracks!”

“Wait, they have a camera in there that I snatched the feed from.” Pidge types at the keys, faster than Lance can keep up with, and the feed shows up on the screen.

To Lance’s surprise, it’s Takashi Shirogane at the center of the screen, the long lost pilot of the Kerberos Mission believed to be dead. He’s strapped to a table, wearing ratty clothes and struggling against his bonds. There are two technicians at his side, covered from head to toe in hazmat gear.

As they approach Shiro, he thrashes more. “Hey, what are you doing?”

Lance recognizes Iverson’s voice from the tech on the right side of the screen. “Calm down, Shiro. We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests on you.”

His words do nothing to placate Shiro. If anything, they make him more agitated. “You have to listen to me! They destroyed worlds! Aliens are coming!”

Lance shakes off his shock to speak. “That’s Shiro, the pilot for the Kerberos Mission. That guy’s my hero!”

“Guess he didn’t die in space after all.” Hunk adds.

“Where’s the rest of the crew?” Pidge whispers, mostly to himself, but Lance still catches it.

“Do you know how long you’ve been gone?” Iverson asks on the screen.

Shiro shakes his head. “I don't know. Months? Years? Look, there's no time. Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way. They'll destroy us! We have to find Voltron!”

“Voltron!” Pidge repeats. Lance thinks back to the drawing Pidge made and wonders if it’s anything like the real thing. 

The technician on Shiro’s other side speaks, gesturing at Shiro’s right arm. “Sir, take a look at this. It appears his arm has been replaced with a cyborg prosthetic.” Now that he’s pointed it out, it’s hard to miss. Lance mentally berates himself for not seeing it in the first place, glinting silver from the lights above. 

Iverson observes the arm for a moment. “Put him under until we know what that thing can do.”

This only makes Shiro more upset, and he begins to struggle more violently. “Don't, don't put me under! No, there's no time! Let me go!”

Pidge disconnects the feed, leaving the three of them in a tense silence. “They didn’t ask about the rest of the crew.”

Lance ignores him for the moment, more concerned about Shiro’s reappearance. “What are they doing? The guy's a legend. They're not even gonna listen to him?”

“We have to get him out.” Pidge says, clearly on the same wavelength as Lance now. 

Hunk, ever the realist, tries to put a stop to their plan. “I hate to be the voice of reason here, as always, but weren't we just watching on the laptop because there was no way to get past the guards?”

“That was before we were properly motivated.” Lance holds his chin as he thinks. “We've just got to think. Could we tunnel in?” Even before saying it, he realizes how unlikely it is that will work.

“Maybe we could get some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs.” Pidge suggests.

Lance shakes his head. “What we need is a distraction.”

Lance would love to take credit for the explosions that erupt across the desert at his words, but his night is just turning out to be an incredibly lucky series of coincidences.

“Is that the aliens? Are they here? They got here so quick!” Hunk panics, poised to sprint in the opposite direction at any second. 

“No. Those explosions were a distraction for him!” Pidge shakes his head and points down at the ground. “The Garrison's headed towards the blast, and he's sneaking in from the other side!”

Lance follows his finger. A bright red hovercraft is pulling in beside a rock near the Garrison’s tent. As the machine shuts down, the mysterious newcomer slides off of his seat and into a crouch. His red jacket and general remind Lance of someone, but it isn’t until his eyes move from the bandana around his face to his hair that Lance realizes who it is.

“Oh no,” Lance mutters, a new surge a adrenaline rushing through him. “He is not going to beat us there! That guy is always trying to one-up me!”

“Who is it?” Hunk asks. He probably can’t get a good enough look from his position, but Lance doubts he would even recognize Keith if given the proper seating.

“Keith!” Lance shrieks, rising to slide down the slope of the cliff. It’s been almost a year since Lance has Keith to compete against, and he is not going to let him win this time.

“Who?” Pidge sounds confused, and Lance remembers that he only arrived after Keith was gone.

“Are you sure?” Hunk prods, standing to follow Lance.

Lance grits his teeth as Keith sneaks inside the building. “I’d recognize that mullet anywhere!”

He sprints to make it inside, the only indication that the others are following being the pounding of their footsteps. Lance is tired of being compared to this guy, he’s tired of being pushed aside despite his hard work, he just wants to prove he’s worthy, too. 

When Lance enters the room Shiro is being held in, Keith has already knocked out Iverson and the other technician. Shiro’s straps have been cut away and he’s slouched against Keith’s side, arm slung over his shoulders.

Lance pushes aside a medical tray and waggles his finger, coming up on Shiro’s other side as extra support. “Nope. No, no, no, no, no, no, no you don't. I'm saving Shiro.”

Keith squints at him over Shiro’s head. “Who are you?”

Of all the things for Keith to say upon seeing him, that was the last thing Lance expected. Maybe they’d bicker, Lance would talk up his training and recent performances, but he wasn’t expecting the guy not to even remember him. It stings a little, especially since has been dealing with a lot from Iverson thanks to Keith.

“Who am I? Uh, the name's Lance.” He pauses for a moment, silently hoping that his name would spark recognition.

But Keith just keeps holding his blank stare, his grey eyes uninterested. 

“We were in the same class at the Garrison?” Lance adds.

Keith frowns. “Really? Are you an engineer?”

Somehow, Lance’s heart manages to both break and be engulfed in flames of anger. “No, I'm a pilot. We were, like, rivals. You know, Lance and Keith, neck-and-neck.” 

“Oh wait,” Keith looks to the ceiling as he thinks, snapping his fingers when a thought comes. “I remember you. You're a cargo pilot.”

Lance scowls. “Not anymore. I'm fighter class now thanks to you washing out.” 

“Well, congratulations.” Keith moves forward with Shiro, forcing Lance to move as well. He still feels ugly bitterness and jealousy stirring in his chest, but he ignores it for the moment. He can deal with it when they aren't running from the Garrison.

“I’m Pidge and he’s Hunk, thanks for asking.” Pidge interrupts. Keith inclines his chin at them but doesn’t speak, leaving Hunk and Pidge to hover awkwardly near them as the carry Shiro out.

They all take their seats on the hovercraft without asking Keith, but Lance assumes it’s the least he can do. From the tallest point on the vehicle, Hunk squints at the horizon. “They're coming back and they do not look happy. We gotta go. Uh, do you mind if we catch a ride with you?” Though he’s already sitting on Keith’s hovercraft, Hunk still looks nervous asking him, even more so when Keith doesn’t respond.

The hovercraft creaks and groans once they’re all situated, with Shiro in Pidge’s arms and Keith in front of the handlebars. “Is this thing going to fit all of us?” Pidge asks.

“No.” Keith grunts. 

They don’t have a choice, though. The Garrison is closing in as Keith speeds off, all of them jerking back at the sudden motion. Lance has to grab onto Keith’s shoulder to avoid flying off, but he finds something on the hovercraft to hold when Keith sends a glare his way.

“Why do I have to hold this guy?” Pidge complains, voice almost lost in the wind. 

“We did all fit!” Hunk cheers.

Lance looks behind them, finding the Garrison vehicles much too close for comfort. “Can’t this thing go any faster?”

“We could toss out some non-essential weight.” Keith suggests.

Trying to be helpful, Lance looks around to see if there’s any cargo attached they could lose. Then, Keith’s words process and he regrets trying to be nice. “Oh, that was an insult, I get it.”

“Hunk, lean left!” Keith shouts.

Hunk obeys and they careen to the left. Behind, Lance watches as two of the Garrison vehicles crash into each other.

“Woah, Mr. Harris just chiked out Professor Montgomery!” Hunk narrates, before his voices take a disappointed tone. “No, no, he's fine.”

“Hunk, lean right!” Keith commands, and Hunk follows suit.

“Wait, is that a cliff ahead?” Hunk asks.

Lance squints and sees the drop off, ending abruptly in after a couple hundred feet. His heart jumps into his throat and they haven’t even gone over the cliff yet. “No, no, no, no!”

Lance can see the corner of Keith’s smirk from behind him, like this is the punchline to a joke only he knows. “Yup.”

He speeds up and Lance abandons all dignity to grip Keith’s shoulders as they go over the edge. He knows they’re all screaming, except Keith, but the wind is almost too loud to hear anything. Lance wants to close his eyes but they’re stuck open, cursing him to watch his death. “You’re going to kill us all!”

“Shut up and trust me!” Keith urges. 

Somehow, Keith maneuvers so they slow down right before crashing, safely landing along the land so they can continue to give chase. Thankfully, there isn’t any need for it anymore. Lance looks up at the top of the cliff to see the Garrison vehicles stopped at the edge.

Lance gives a loud whoop as they speed away, moving until the cliff is nothing but a dot and then gone completely. “We survived! I never doubted you for a second.”

Keith snorts, keeping his eyes on the desert, but Lance can see he’s smiling. “Sure.”

Now that they’ve all narrowly escaped death, they’re all quiet for the rest of the ride. Keith doesn’t tell them where they’re going and Lance doesn’t ask, knowing that he wouldn’t get more than one-word answers.

Keith pulls them alongside a small, rundown shack just as the sun is beginning to rise. They pile off the hovercraft and Lance stretches as he looks over their stop. There doesn’t seem to be much to this place, and Lance wonders what they’re doing here. 

“What is this place?” Lance asks.

Keith takes Shiro back from Pidge, nodding in appreciation when Lance returns to the other side. “It’s mine.”

Lance raises an eyebrow as he looks over their destination. “You’ve been living here for the past year?”

Keith shrugs and urges them to the door. “Where else?” He asks that like it’s something Lance should know the answer to, which he doesn’t.

Even back at the Garrison, Keith was closed off. He didn’t interact much with other cadets except for the occasional fight or mandatory group training. No one knew anything about his past, giving him a mysterious quality that everyone loved to gossip about. Lance can’t even count all of the crazy rumors people came up with about his past as he never really took part in all of that. He focused on beating Keith, not learning every single detail of the guy’s life.

The inside of the shack looks very similar to the outside. Dirty and old and smelling of the sandy desert. It’s not a huge place, with only one room filled around the edges with stacks of equipment and the occasional bookshelf. The coffee table is nothing more than a slab of wood laid on top of four piles of books. There’s no bed or curtains, with their respective replacements being a ratty couch and a thin white sheet hung over the windows. 

He and Keith lay Shiro on the couch. Keith kneels at his head, frowning as he stares Shiro’s still form. He doesn’t offer them anything to eat or anyplace to sit, but it’s not like Lance expected Keith to be a great host. Lance finds an open spot and stands with his arms crossed, not sure what else he can do. Pidge and Hunk enter the shack and start looking around.

The sun is barely peeking above a nearby sand dune when Shiro shifts and groans. All of them freeze, with Keith leaning in closer. “Shiro?”

Shiro blinks and looks around to take in his new surroundings. When his gaze falls on Keith his eyes widen and he sits up. He reaches out to put his right arm on Keith’s shoulder, flinches, then switches it to his left arm. “Keith?”

Keith grins. “Welcome back.”

Shiro looks at the rest of them, realizing that he and Keith aren’t alone. Hunk gives a small wave as Shiro stands. He wipes a hand down his face and heads to the door. “I need some air.”

He walks outside, Keith hot on his heels with a bundle of new clothes. Lance moves to watch them from the doorway as Shiro stops on top of the closest dune, Keith at his side. They’re talking, but they’re so far away that he can’t make out anything. With Keith gone, Hunk goes so far as to start taking apart some equipment and Pidge flips through a book. Lance hopes they don’t accidentally break something, sure that Keith would somehow direct his wrath at Lance. 

“Do you think Keith lives here?” Hunk asks as he fiddles with a nob. 

Lance cringes in anticipation, but thankfully nothing explodes. “Probably. Don’t know why else he would bring us here.”

Hunk frowns. “That’s kind of sad, don’t you think?”

Lance shrugs and looks back out the door. Shiro, in his new clothes, and Keith are on their way back so he moves to his original position. “I guess.”

Keith makes his way to a sheet covering the wall in front of the couch and pulls it away. Lance is in awe of the sheer quantity of stuff hidden beneath it on a bulletin board. There are pages upon pages of notes, some crinkled old maps pinned up, and even some star charts. Sticky notes are scattered amongst the mess of photos and charts, all of canyons and desert. In the center is the biggest map of them all, covered in scribbles and geometric shapes. Lance can’t tell if it’s the work of a genius or someone who has been alone in the desert for far too long.

“What have you been working on?” Shiro ask, his expression mirroring how Lance is feeling.

Keith stares at the board. “I can't explain it, really. After getting booted from the Garrison, I was kinda lost and felt myself drawn out to this place. It's like something, some energy, was telling me to search.”

Lance scowls at the back of his head, fighting down the wave of sympathy that rolls through him. Part of him wants to feel bad for Keith, but the other half reminds him how much Lance struggled in the Garrison because of him. 

“For what?” Shiro asks. 

“Well, I didn't really know at the time, until I stumbled across this area.” Keith gestures at the large map covered in writing. “It's an outcropping of giant boulders with caves covered in these ancient markings.” He points to a couple of the photos, both picturing carvings on the wall of a dark cave. “Each tells a slightly different story about a blue lion, but they all share clues leading to some event, some arrival happening last night. Then you showed up.”

Shiro spends another moment absorbing the information before he turns and smiles at the three of them. “I should thank you all for getting me out.” He sticks out his right hand at Lance. “Lance, right?”

His heart skips a beat at the thought of Shiro, the greatest pilot at the Garrison, remembering his name from his time in his classes. He stares at the offered hand for a moment before shaking it.

He turns to the other two and Pidge shakes his hand. Hunk is worrying over the information Keith has presented. “The nervous guy's Hunk. I'm Pidge. So, did anyone else from your crew make it out?”

Lance thinks he’s being a little blunt, but Shiro doesn’t seem to mind. “I'm not sure. I remember the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces.”

The mention of Shiro’s capture seems to bring Hunk’s attention back to the group. “Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but back to the aliens. Where are they now? Are they coming? Are they coming for all of us? Like where are they at this very moment?”

Shiro scratches the back of his head. “I can't really put it together. I-I remember the word ‘Voltron.’” Lance, Pidge, and Hunk look at each other at the mention of the name. “It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why. Whatever it is, I think we need to find it before they do.”

Hunk holds up a journal, one that Lance recognizes from Pidge writing in occasionally. Every time he’s tried to peak at it, the other boy had snapped at him to mind his own business, so Lance had given up. “Well last night, I was rummaging through Pidge’s stuff, and I found this picture.” He slides a photo out from between a couple pages. “Look it's his friend!”

Pidge scowls and jumps at the picture, snatching it back before Lance can see more than a boy and a girl standing next to each other. “Hey, gimme that! What were you doing in my stuff?”

“I was looking for more of your tech!” Hunk insists. He flips to a different page. “So I was reading through-”

“What?!” Pidge screeches, swiping the notebook away and stashing it in his backpack. 

Hunk frowns but continues. “I noticed that the repeating series of numbers the aliens are searching for looks a lot like a Fraunhofer line.”

Keith frowns and tilts his head to the side. “Frown-who?”

“It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element, only this element doesn't exist on Earth.” Hunk explains, gesticulating in his excitement. “I thought it might be this Voltron, and I think I can build a machine to look for it, kinda like a Voltron-Geiger Counter.”

Lance can understand bits and pieces thanks to his required chemistry class, but even what he can’t understand sounds incredible. He grins. “Hunk, you big genius!”

Hunk smiles at the praise. “Yeah, It's pretty fascinating, really.” He pulls out a graph, likely from the pages of Pidge’s notebook. “The wavelength looks like this.”

“Give me that.” Keith commands as he grabs the paper. Lance is about to yell at him for ruining Hunk’s moment when he walks up to the bulletin board and holds the graph up. Next to a series of boulders Keith had picture of, the graph’s pattern looked like a complete match.

Lance whistles. “Creepy.”

As Keith folds the graph back up and hands it to Hunk, Shiro points at the photo. “Do you know where this is?”

Keith nods. “It’s not too far from here.” He turns to Hunk. “I can guide us to the general area, but can you build that Geiger thingy to get us closer?”

Hunk grins and picks up something from the floor. Lance recognizes some of it as the equipment he was messing with earlier. There’s a small satellite dish attached to the small radio device now. “Actually, I already made it. I hope this wasn’t important.”

Keith waves a dismissive hand and shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter, this is more important.”

With Hunk’s device operational, they head out into the desert. Keith leads the way, Shiro by his side and Hunk and Pidge close behind with the device. The sun is getting higher, making the sand hotter and Lance wishes this could have waited until nighttime when the air would be cooler. But they don’t really have much of a choice but to keep pushing ahead, both to avoid the Garrison and find this “Voltron” before the aliens. 

They wander deep into a winding canyon, keeping to the higher ledges rather than walking along the low ground. The further they go, the more Hunk’s device beeps. Pidge sweeps the satellite back and forth, comparing various signals. Eventually they come to a stop and Hunk pulls out the graph to compare against a couple of boulders. It’s a perfect match. 

“This is the place.” Keith says. 

The group stops, letting Pidge and Hunk take the lead. The follow the more frequent beeping, leading them into a dark cave that feels like heaven compared to the hot sun. Lance spies the carvings Keith had pictures of in the shack. 

“These are the lion carvings I was telling you about. They're everywhere around here.” Keith explains.

Lance runs his hand along the back of one of the lions. He can’t quite place it, but he feels something in this cave, like there’s something tugging at his heart and begging him to come closer, though he can’t tell what it is.

Beneath his palm, the carving glows bright blue and recoils in shock. The rest of the carvings follow suit and Lance gapes at them. 

“They’ve never done that before.” Keith comments, sounding as surprised as Lance.

Without warning, the ground beneath them crumbles in an explosion of blue light, sending the five of them plummeting through the Earth. Lance screams at the sudden change in altitude and tries to grab onto anything as the fall follows a tunnel reminiscent of a slide. For one terrifying moment, he’s flung into open air, sure that he’s going to die against the rocks, but then he’s landing in a shallow pool, rising from his knees and trying to calm his racing heart.

When he looks up, he finds one of the most magnificent things he’s ever seen.

It’s some sort of robot, built in the rough shape of a lioness, sitting proudly on her haunches. She’s colored blue and white, with a few black and red accents and scratches chipping away at the paint. Surrounding her is a blue forcefield built out of small hexagons, the cavern humming with its presence. 

Lance rises, feeling that pull in his chest draw him to her.

“Is this Voltron?” Pidge asks no one in particular.

“It must be.” Shiro confirms hesitantly.

Their voices sound miles away to Lance, every other sound muffled except for the humming of the shield and the beating of his heart. 

“This is what's been causing all this crazy energy out here.” Keith whispers at Lance’s left. He speeds up his pace, making it to the edge of the shield before Lance. He touches the barrier, pulling away when nothing happens. “This must be some kind of force field.” 

Lance wants to make fun of Keith for pointing out the obvious, but he’s too distracted by the eyes of the lion, feeling like they’re cutting into his soul. “Does anyone else get the feeling this is staring at them?”

“No.” Shiro answers. The others hum in agreement. 

Lance leans left and right, feeling as if the eyes follow. “Yeah, the eyes are totally following me.”

“How do we get through this?” Keith tries touching it again with the same result. 

Lance shrugs. “Maybe you just have to knock.” He raises his fist and taps it against the barrier, half expecting nothing to happen. But the barrier sparks where his hand connects, dissolving until the lion is free. His vision blacks out for a moment, but he still sees something that slams into his mind. Along with this blue one, four other different lions combine to form a towering robot. Lance gasps in awe and hears the others do the same. “Did everyone just see that?”

“Voltron is a robot!” Hunk shouts, his words echoing throughout the cavern. “Voltron is a huge, awesome robot!”

“And this is only one part of it!” Pidge adds, just as excited as Hunk. “I wonder where the rest of them are.”

“This is what they’re looking for.” Shiro mutters.

“Incredible.” Keith whispers in admiration. Lance looks over to see his eyes wide as he stares up at the lion. Lance wants to tease him, but he can’t, because he agrees. 

The lions lowers her head and opens her jaw to reveal a ramp, the sudden movement making Pidge and Hunk scream in terror. Lance feels the tug again and sprints up the ramp, assuming the others will follow. He sprints up to the cockpit, pausing to absorb the glowing blue panels and seat in the center, waiting for him.

“Here we go!” He sits in the chair, content to keep looking around, but he screams when the seat moves forward. Once it stops, holographic monitors pop up in the same blue hue. The black in front of him dissolves much like the shield, revealing the cave. “All right!” Very nice!”

The others join him in the cockpit. Hunk gulps. “Okay guys, I feel the need to point out, just so that we're all, y'know, aware: We are in some kind of futuristic alien cat head right now.”

There’s a stronger tug at Lance’s chest, similar but almost nothing like what he’d felt before. It feels like there’s energy superimposed all around him, but somehow stronger in his heart and head. Thought’s he is absolutely sure weren’t there before begin to flood in like fog freed from a closed room, quickly taking shape into something recognizable. 

“Did you guys feel that?” Lance asks, still reeling from the feeling. The fog-like thoughts settle, taking up a little home in the corner of his mind. 

“Hear what?” Keith questions, giving Lance a little satisfaction to know he found something new that Keith didn’t already find.

“I think it’s trying to talk to me.” Lance elaborates. At the fog’s urging, he presses a few buttons and the lion stands. Hunk and Pidge scream again, sounding much more painful in the smaller space. “Okay, let’s try this.”

He grabs the controls and thrusts them forward, sending the lion flying out of the cavern. They burst through solid rock, speeding through the air and Lance feels incredible despite the fearful cries behind him. The lion somehow ends up back at the Garrison, encouraging Lance to do complicated flips and spins in the air. He relishes in the feeling. Even someone gripping his hair and shoulders and breathing down his neck can’t stop his fun. The lion lets him get his fill before heading off in a run, almost like it knows Lance wants one last chance to show the Garrison what he’s made of. 

“Isn’t this great?” Lance laughs.

“Make it stop! Make it stop!” Hunk yells. 

“I’m not making it do anything!” He argues, though that’s not entirely true. It’s more like they’re both mutually agreeing on what to do.

The lion takes off into the sky. “Where are you going?” Keith demands. 

Lance shrugs. “I don’t know!” A thought comes from the lion settled in his mind. “It says there’s an alien ship approaching Earth, I think we need to stop it.”

“What did it say exactly?” Pidge presses, clearly irritated with being out of the loop.

“Well, it’s not really saying words,” Lance clarifies. “It’s more like it’s feeding ideas into my brain. Kind of.”

“Well, if this thing is the weapon they're coming for, why don't we just, like, I don't know, give it to them?” Hunk says. “Maybe they'll leave us alone.” Lance feels Hunk pat the seat. “Sorry, Lion, nothing personal.”

“You don’t understand.” Shiro insists. “These monsters spread like a plague throughout the galaxy, destroying everything in their path. There's no bargaining with them. They won't stop until everything is dead.”

The cockpit is silent at those cheery words until Hunk relents. “Never mind then.”

The lion breaks through the atmosphere, sending them into space. Lance barely has time to process that he’s actually in space before a gigantic ship emerges, dark and purple and menacing. 

“They found me.” Shiro murmurs.

“We’ve gotta get out of here!” Pidge urges. 

Lance tightens his grip of the controls and bites his lip. “Hang on!”

He dodges the onslaught of laser fire that erupts from the ship. “Okay, I think I know what to do!”

“Be careful!” Pidge reprimands. “This isn’t a simulator.”

Lance laughs to himself. “That’s good, I always wreck the simulator.”

At the lion’s urging, Lance slams the controls forward and a laser of his own shoots the ship. He pulls in close, dragging the lion’s claws across the hull of the ship and leaving huge gashes in his wake. 

“Nice job, Lance!” Shiro praises.

Lance preens at the compliment. “It’s time to get these guys away from our planet!”

He speeds off in the direction away from Earth, letting out a relieved breath when he sees the ship pursuing. 

“They’re gaining on us!” Pidge confirms.

“This is weird.” Lance frowns. “They're not trying to shoot us. They're just chasing.”

“Where are we?” Keith questions.

Lance looks around, trying to find something he would recognize from class. They pass a large moon, one that looks very familiar. 

Shiro points through the screen at it. “That’s Kerberos. We’re at the edge of the solar system.”

Lance whips his head around at Shiro in surprise. He sees the others doing the same. Pidge can’t seem to close his gaping mouth. “It takes months for our ships to get out this far. We got out here in five seconds.”

Something bright appears in front of the lion, large and circular. It’s bright blue, the edges decorated in twisting patterns and the center seeming to go on forever in a stream of cosmic dust. 

“What is that?” Hunk asks.

The lion reassures him in his head, keeping him calm and insisting he go through. “Uh, this may seem crazy, but I think the Lion wants us to go through there.”

“Where does it go?” Pidge inquires. None of them have an answer.

“Shiro, you’re the senior officer here. What should we do?” Lance says, waiting for his approval even though the lion is almost forcing him through.

“Whatever's happening, the Lion knows more than we do. I say we trust it, but we're a team now. We should decide together.” 

They all share looks, nodding one by one until they have all agreed to continue. Lance grins and braces himself against the controls. “All right, I guess we’re ditching class tomorrow.”

He thrusts the controls forward, and they get pulled inside. 

It’s extremely turbulent, all of them holding tightly to whatever’s closest. Lance thinks they might be in here forever, but another gate opens up like the first and they’re back to floating in space. 

“Woah.” Lance whispers, overcome with awe.

The Hunk vomits and the moment’s gone. 

“So sorry.” He moans, doubled over.

Pidge pats him on the back. “I’m just surprised it took this long.”

Lance winces in sympathy while Hunk wretches, wishing he had some sort of bucket. Though a little irritated, the lion doesn’t feel like it’s going to chuck Hunk out into space, so Lance lets himself relax.

The lion starts to head towards a planet before them, much smaller than Earth but still covered in blue and green. A warm feeling bubbles in his chest, but it doesn’t come from him. “I think the lion’s going home.”

They swoop down from the sky, soaring over forests and fields.

“Is anyone else having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious wormhole?” Hunk wonders. “Why are we listening to a robotic lion anyway?”

“It got us away from that alien warship, didn't it?” Lance comes to its defense, happy when the lion feels satisfied. 

“I don't know if you noticed, but we're in an alien warship.” Keith points out.

Lance looks back at him and smirks. “Oh, are you scared?” He teases.

“With you at the helm? Terrified.”

Lance’s smirk drops into a scowl.

“All right, knock it off!” Shiro interrupts, stepping in between their glaring match. “No one's happy to be in this situation, but we're here now. If we want to get through this, we've got to do it together.”

Lance crosses his arms, feeling angrier when Keith does the same, but he doesn’t argue.

“What do we do?” Asks Pidge. He looks between Keith and Lance warily, like he’s afraid they’re going to erupt into a shouting match.

“First, we find out where we’re headed.” Shiro places his hand on the back of Lance’s seat. “Lance?”

“Probably towards that castle.” He responds dryly. 

The castle stands tall and beautiful in the daylight, covered on the sides by rock and plants and attached to a long and broken bridge. The lion lands them in a courtyard in front of the entrance.

“Keep your guards up.” Shiro advises, heading out of the cockpit.

Pidge tilts his head to the side. “Something wrong.”

Shiro shakes his head. “My crew was captured by aliens once. I'm not going to let it happen again.”

The file out of the cockpit behind Shiro, Lance following after one last gracious pat on the controls. Once on the ground again, Lance misses the thrill of flying in the lion, but something tells him he won’t be gone for long.

The lion rises and roars at the castle, making Hunk screech in fear until he realizes they’re not in danger and laughs apologetically at the lion.

The roar makes the entrance creak open, allowing the five of them to wander into the dark castle. There aren’t any light, nothing that suggests people live here, and Lance wonders how long it’s been since someone stepped inside. 

A column of light appears in the center of the room along with a voice. “Hold for identity scan.”

“Why are we here?” Shiro shouts, though the voice says nothing more. “What do you want with us?”

Cylinders of light surround all of them. Lance shuts his eyes, expecting to feel pain, but instead he feels nothing and when he opens his eyes, torches have lit two grand staircases, not with fire but with strange glowing crystals. He can see the path continuing down a corridor.

“I guess we should go that way.” Pidge points at the lights.

They climb the staircase, walking down the corridor and taking a few turns that the torches guide them along. Hunk calls out a greeting to the darkness, but nothing responds except his echo.

The torches lead them to a brightly lit room with a console in the center and circles on the floor arranged in a semicircle across the room. 

“Where are we?” In this smaller room, Lance’s voice doesn’t echo.

Pidge observes the console. “It must be some kind of control room.”

The console activates, lighting up and causing two tall rounded cones to rise from the circles on the floor. Inside, Lance can make out the silhouettes of two humanoid beings. He approaches the closest one and stares into the glass.

“Are they…dead?” Hunk hesitates. 

The glass panel on the object falls down, releasing the figure trapped inside. It’s a girl, probably around Lance’s age, with long white hair and dark skin covered by an elegant gown. She reaches out as she falls and gasps. “Father!”

She can’t catch herself, so Lance rushes forward and catches her. “Hey.” He greets. “Give yourself a moment.”

She frowns. Lance can see her ears are slightly pointed from this angle. “Who are you? Where am I?”

“I’m Lance,” He tries in the smoothest voice he can manage. “And you’re right here in my arms.”

Her frown doesn’t waver, so he counts it as a loss. “Your ears.”

He lifts a hand to his ear at its mention. “Yeah?”

She recoils, able to stand on her own. “They’re hideous. What’s wrong with them?”

Lance steps back and crosses his arms. “Nothing's wrong with them! They heard exactly what you said about them!”

The girl reaches for his ear and pulls, hard, manipulating Lance until he’s kneeling on the floor and completely at her mercy. “Who are you? Where is King Alfor? What are you doing in my castle?”

Lance doesn’t have any answers, but he gives it his best shot so she’ll let go of his ear. “A giant blue lion brought us here! That's all we know!”

This seems to be the right thing to say as she drops his ear the mention of the lion. “How do you have the Blue Lion? What happened to its paladin? What are you all doing here? Unless... How long has it been?”

Lance stands back up, rubbing his ear and backing away. Shiro, ever the diplomat, raises his hands placatingly. “We don't know what you're talking about. Why don't you tell us who you are? Maybe we can help.”

She stands proud and tall. “I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea. I've got to find out where we are and how long we've been asleep.” Now that she mentions it, Lance can see some sort of crown around her forehead, displaying a blue crystal at its center.

Princess Allura makes her way to the console, Hunk and Pidge moving to make space for her but keeping close. Shiro moves beside them but Lance doesn’t come any closer for fear of the Princess attacking again. Surprisingly, Keith walks over and stands at Lance’s side. He tries to raise an eyebrow questioningly at Keith, but the other teen doesn’t remove his gaze from the others.

The Princess places a hand on the console and a screen sprouts up. She starts typing away and scrolling.

“So that’s how that works.” Pidge notes, peering around the edge to get a closer look.

The other pod hisses open, revealing a man with bright orange hair who jumps at the sight of Lance. Keith, the traitor, moves closer to the others so as to not get involved. 

“Enemy combatants!” The man shouts, falling into a fighting position. 

Lance tries to mirror him. The man lunges but Lance easily sidesteps, leaving the man sprawling on the floor. 

“Quiznak!” The man curses, or at least, Lance thinks that’s what that is. “You're lucky I have a case of the old ‘Sleep Chamber Knees’. Otherwise, I'd grab your head like this, wrap you up like so and one, two, three-” He snaps his finger. “Sleepy time!”

“Oh yeah?” Lance challenges. “Well, before you’d do that, I’d-” He punches out his fist a couple times and kicks once, making the appropriate grunts and shouts with each move. “Like that!”

“Oh really!” The man acknowledges Lance’s clear fighting prowess. “Well how could you do that when I've already come at you with this?” The man bends slow and imitates another strike.

Lance crosses his arms, conceding their mock battle. 

“Man, these guys are good.” He hears Hunk whisper.

Lance beams in pride until he sees Keith roll his eyes. He wants to snap at him, but Keith returns to standing next to him despite his obvious disinterest in Lance’s skills, leaving Lance at a loss what to do.

“It can’t be.” Princess Allura mutters under her breath. 

“What is it?” The orange-haired man goes to her side, looking over the console.

“We’ve been asleep for ten thousand years!” She looks to her older companion, clearly distraught. The man holds her for a moment, letting her process her grief while looking morose himself. Lance doesn’t know what to say or do. They’re strangers, anything he says would be meaningless. “Planet Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have been destroyed. Coran, Father is gone. Our entire civilization...” She pulls away from the man, who must be Coran, and her face contorts with rage. “Zarkon!”

The word makes Shiro flinch and whip his head to stare at her in disbelief. “Zarkon?”

“He was the King of the Galra.” She continues. “A vile creature and enemy to all free people.”

“I remember now,” Shiro looks at the floor, eyes distant. “I was his prisoner.”

“He’s still alive?” The Princess gasps. “Impossible!”

Shiro shakes his head and looks up. “I can’t explain it, but it’s true. He’s searching for a super weapon called Voltron.”

The Princess clenches her fists. “He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him, and that's exactly why we must find it before he does.”


	2. The Defenders of the Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins retrieve their lions, fight a Galra ship, and earn a new title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your lovely comments and kudos, they really make my day and keep me motivated! I'm posting this chapter a little earlier than I originally intended because I realized it's the one year anniversary of when I posted my super long Voltron story, Variations on a Theme! I figured I might as well celebrate by adding on to my new story! Check it out if you're curious, otherwise, please enjoy this chapter!

Two days ago, Keith was alone in his shack surrounded by an unknown energy and wishing he had Shiro back. Now, he stands in an alien castle surrounded by four strangers, one kind-of stranger, and his long-lost brother. 

He wouldn’t have believed it two days ago, and he certainly doesn’t believe it now.

Out of all of the newcomers surrounding him, Lance is the biggest enigma. He pushed his way into Keith’s life to help Shiro, which Keith was admittedly grateful for, while claiming they had been rivals before Keith was kicked out of the Garrison.

Keith doesn’t remember having any rivals, but he vaguely recalls Lance. Lance, who had always been surrounded by friends who laughed at his jokes. Lance, who called himself the “Tailor” so much despite his failings in the simulator, making Keith believe for the longest time that it was his name. Lance, who was determined in flight school even when he was falling to the bottom of the rankings and always managed to pick himself up. Lance, who was the missing piece to solve a puzzle Keith had been trying to solve for a year.

Keith can tell that Lance doesn’t like him, barely even tolerates him, likely due to their murky history at the Garrison. But despite Lance’s resentment, Keith can’t help but be drawn to him. He had felt the same energy Keith had, he had found what Keith couldn’t, and now he’s the tether that binds Keith to this mess, proving that Keith was right all along.

So, Keith gravitates to Lance for those reasons and reasons he can’t yet articulate.

It’s why Keith stands at Lance’s side now, just outside of the group hovering around the console Princess Allura is still working at after listening to them all introduce themselves. Her friend, Coran, had left briefly and returned with something he claimed was food but looks like a pile of green mush. The green stuff is piled high on a floating plate in front of Pidge and Hunk, bobbing up and down as the two debate the risks and rewards of eating eat.

As with every time his thoughts start drifting, Keith finds his gaze falling on Shiro. He can’t believe his brother is here again after so long. Keith always knew he was out there, but a tiny piece of his brain had been starting to give up hope, just like everyone else. Now, Keith keeps a close eye on him, afraid he might vanish again without a trace.

Coran gestures at the pile of green goo. “Princess, you must eat, it’s been ten thousand years!”

She waves a dismissive hand, her gaze not budging from the screen. “I’m fine.”

“Man, ten thousand years.” Lance sighs, probably sympathizing with the Princess. Keith agrees, it’s a lot to process. “That’s like one thousand plus ten.”

Keith is sure that it’s just the tiredness they’re all feeling messing with Lance’s words, but it still makes him scowl. “That’s times ten.”

Lance glares at him and Keith matches his expression. “Whatever, dropout.”

Keith doesn’t dignify him with a response, instead looking back at the rest of the group. Finally making up his mind, Hunk takes a bite of the food. At first he recoils, but then deciding that it’s not too bad, he continues. 

“I can't believe your civilization created such advanced technology 10,000 years ago.” Shiro’s voice draws Keith’s stare back to him. “It must have been an incredible place.”

“Yes, it was.” Coran sighs, eyes staring off at something no one else can see. “But now it is gone and we're the last Alteans alive.”

The Princess’s shoulders slump and Coran guides her head to his shoulder. It’s a private moment of mourning and feeling as if he’s intruding, Keith looks away.

A squeak sounds from the chamber Princess Allura was in, drawing her attention. She kneels down and four little mice of various shapes and colors run to her. The Princess smiles. “Looks like we're not the last, after all.”

Red lights flash and alarms blare. Keith jumps, hand hovering at his back in case he needs to draw his knife. The Princess stands, frowning as a holographic screen appears with the image of a ship much like the one that had pursued them away from Earth. 

“A Galra ship has set its tracker to us!” Coran shouts.

“How did it find us?” The Princess demands. 

“I’m not sure,” Lance announces, sending a glare in Keith’s direction which Keith sends right back. “But I bet it was Keith’s fault.”

“Say whatever you've got to say to make yourself feel better after getting us stuck on the other side of a wormhole!” Keith sneers, clenching his fists at his side. He doesn’t know what Lance’s problem is, but he’s already sick of it.

Lance draws up close and mirror’s Keith pose, close enough that Keith can feel the angry huff of his breath disturb his bangs. “I’ll stick you in a wormhole!”

Shiro breaks them apart with a hand on their shoulders, but Keith is still fuming. “Stow it, cadets! This is no time to place blame, it's time to work as a team.” He gives each of them a stern look, making Keith only a little guilty after making Shiro deal with this so soon after getting back. Shiro turns to the Princess and Coran. “How long before they arrive?”

“At their speed?” Coran holds up his fingers and mutters to himself. “I’d say a couple of days?”

He doesn’t sound very sure, but it’s all they have to go off of.

“Good, let them come.” The Princess declares. So soon after finding out her civilization was gone, she already looks prepared to fight back. “By the time they get here, you five will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkon’s empire!”

“Princess, there are five lions. How will we find the rest?” Shiro questions. 

She smiles and moves to the door. “I’ll show you.”

She leads them down more halls. When they had first entered, only crystal torches had provided light. Now, with the castle fully activated and its Princess awake once more, the halls are much brighter, making the Castle feel more approachable than before. She enters another grand room much larger than the one they just left. There are multiple raised platforms on the floor that fit together and end in a smaller pedestal in the center, with short sets of stairs leading to the front. Tall supports along the walls lead to a gigantic blue crystal hanging overhead. 

The Princess makes her way to the platform in the center and faces them, holding her arms to the side to summon to cylinders that she rests her hands on. She closes her eyes for a moment, and then the room fills with stars. They all gasp, with Keith not bothering to hide his wonder.

“King Alfor connected the Lions to Allura's life force.” Coran explains. “She alone is the key to the Lions' whereabouts.”

Keith can seem some of the lions dispersed amongst the stars. Pidge squints at a planet, displaying both the blue lion they had arrived in and a larger black lion. Symbols in another language, likely Altean, flash below the planet. 

“These are coordinates.” Pidge wrinkles his brow in thought. “The Black Lion looks like it's in the same location as the Blue Lion.”

Coran clasps his hands together. “Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage!” Pidge glares at him.

“Very observant.” Allura praises, a smirk on her lips like she knows something they don’t. Which, given how much they’ve learned since arriving, Keith surmises that’s probably true. “That's because the Black Lion is in the Castle.”

“To keep the Black Lion out of Zarkon's hands, King Alfor locked it in the Castle.” Coran reveals. “It can only be freed if the other four Lions are present.”

“As you have found, the Lions choose their pilots.” The Princess inclines her head in Lance’s direction. “It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his Lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain.”

The Princess waves her hand, sending the image of the Black Lion to hover in front of Shiro. “The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion.”

Keith smiles to himself. No surprise there.

Another wave, this time sending the Green Lion from another part of the universe to stand before Pidge. “The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion.”

She sends the Blue Lion. “The Blue Lion is very loving and keeps Voltron stable. Accepting and understanding, the Blue Lion requires a pilot who is eager to prove himself and holds his teammates in high regard. Therefore Lance, you will pilot the Blue Lion.” 

Lance beams at the announcement, his eyes not moving from the small hologram even though the real thing is just outside. Keith watches him for longer than necessary, the carefree smile of Lance drawing his attention until the Princess’s voice brings him back to reality.

“As the other leg of Voltron, the Yellow Lion is caring and kind.” She moves the corresponding lion to Hunk. “Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together.”

Hunk looks around, as if making sure the Princess has the right person.

Finally, the Princess turns to Keith, but no lion floats his way. “The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone. Keith, you will fly the Red Lion.” She frowns. “Unfortunately, I cannot locate the Red Lion's coordinates yet. There must be something wrong with the Castle. After 10,000 years, it might need some work.”

The room is silent once Princess Allura finishes, all of them absorbing the enormous task they’ve been given. Keith feels like he has something to prove, maybe they all do, and he’s itching to find his lion.

Coran rubs his mustache. “Don't worry, we'll find it soon. They don't call me "The Coranic" for nothing.” He pauses. The others must look as confused as Keith because Coran fumbles to explain. “It's because it sounds like 'mechanic.' So, Coranic, mechanic.” He deflates. “It doesn't sound exactly like it. It's similar.”

The holographic lions roar and sprint to the center of the room, combining in a flash of light and emerging as one huge robot. Voltron.

“Once all the Lions are united,” Allura elaborates. “You will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior ever known, the Defender of the Universe.”

The hologram of Voltron fades away and the stars disappear. The black that encased the walls of the chamber dissolve, letting in daylight and showing the castle’s surroundings.

“Wait.” Hunk holds up a hand. “Okay, we're going to be in there and flying Lions. Got that part. How do Lions turn into legs? Also, is this going to be long trip?” If Hunk overthinks it much more, Keith might get a headache. 

“We don't have much time.” Shiro says, turning to face him, Hunk, Lance, and Pidge. Keith sees that stepping into his role as the Black Lion’s pilot isn’t much of a change. “Pidge and I will go after the Green Lion. Lance, you take Hunk and get the yellow one. Keith, you stay here. If you locate that Red Lion, go get it.”

Keith nods in understanding, only a little disappointed that he can’t jump into the action just yet.

“In the meantime, I'll get this Castle's defenses ready.” The Princess declares, turning around to a better position over her controls. “They'll be sorely needed.”

Coran escorts Pidge and Shiro away to ship of their own since they don’t have a lion, Shiro patting Keith on the back with an encouraging smile as he passes that Keith returns. Hunk and Lance make their way back to the castle’s entrance, leaving Keith alone with the Princess. 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” He offers, certain that sitting around like this for however long it takes the others to return will make him go stir crazy.

“Actually, yes.” The Princess says. From this angle, Keith can see her eyes are closed in concentration. “I have to focus on keeping the wormholes open and preparing the castle, but would you tell me about the planet you all come from? Earth, was it?”

Keith nods, though the Princess can’t see him. “Well, it’s similar to this planet, actually, but a lot bigger, and it has a moon.”

He continues to describe Earth to the best of his abilities despite never have living anywhere but a desert climate. Eventually, he starts to tell her about the Kerberos mission and how Shiro went missing, transitioning into the story of how they all ended up here with the Blue Lion. 

The Princess nods as he talks, clearly taking in every detail and frowning at some distressing parts. When he finishes, she thanks him and turns her complete focus on the castle.

“Actually, I have a question for you, Princess.” Keith interrupts.

She nods. “Go ahead.”

“How were you able to tell which of us would be suited to what lion? We barely know you.” 

The Princess hums in thought. “I come from a long line of Altean Alchemists who learned how to sense and manipulate quintessence. I too have the ability to sense it, though I haven’t yet learned how to use it, so I was able to match your quintessence to each of the lions.”

Keith nods, satisfied with that answer. Coran reenters the room, announcing that the castle should be able to defend itself which is a good thing, because the Galra ship seems to be approaching faster than he anticipated. The Princess lets out a small gasp, informing the other two that she has found the Red Lion and it is closer than she’d expected, but it is on the Galra ship approaching their location.

Shiro and Pidge return first, both wearing wide smiles that speak to their success. 

“Good work.” Princess Allura says, finally opening her eyes and turning to face them all with a wide smile. “The wormhole is almost closed, but I have complete faith that Hunk and Lance will return in time.”

Unlike Pidge and Shiro’s carefree entrance, Hunk and Lance return groaning and rubbing their arms and backs. 

“You made it!” The Princess congratulates. 

Lance moans and leans back. Keith winces in sympathy at the symphony of cracks that results. “Yeah, just barely. That was a nightmare. I almost puked out there. I felt like Hunk!”

Hunk stares at his friend in disbelief. “Think how I felt, I am Hunk!”

“Yeah,” Pidge adds, sharing a knowing smile with Shiro. “We had a tough time, too.”

“Did we find the Red Lion yet?” Shiro turns his kind gaze from Pidge to the Princess.

“Allura just located it.” Coran answers. “There's a bit of good news and bad news. The good news is, the Red Lion's nearby. The bad news is, it's on board that Galra ship now orbiting Arus. But wait, good news again, we’re Arus!”

Shiro’s smile immediately drops. “They’re here already?”

“Yes, guess my calculations were a bit off.” Coran holds up his fingers and wiggles them around. “Finger counting, it's more of an art than a science, really.”

Keith is pretty sure that’s not true, but he doesn’t think pointing it out will change the man’s mind.

The screen at the front of the room flickers to life. A man appears, his body purple with tall fluffy ears on his head. He wears an orange uniform and has one eye replaced with a glowing orb. He must be Galra, though cat-like ears and shocking skin tone are nothing like Keith expected.

“Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire. I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the Lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet.” He doesn’t give them a chance to respond, leaving the threat hanging in the air as the communication cuts off.

There’s silence in the room as everyone processes Sendak’s order. Keith thinks he should feel the same fear he sees in the others’ eyes, but instead there’s a rush of adrenaline readying him for a fight. Keith is never one to back down from a challenge, and after a life spent wandering around trying to find his place, Keith thinks that maybe this is the opportunity he was searching for. 

“Alright, let’s not panic.” Shiro says, but his words seem to shatter the shock that had kept them all still.

“Not panic?” Hunk shrieks, his voice higher than before. “The scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship toward us. We only have four lions.”

“Technically,” Pidge pushes his glasses up his nose. “Only three working lions.”

“That's right.” Hunk agrees, holding up three fingers. “Thank you, Pidge. Three working Lions and a Castle that's, like, 10,000 years old.”

“Actually, it's 10,600 years old.” Coran interrupts. “You see, it was built by my grandfather-”

Hunk presses his fingers to his temple, growing increasingly stressed with each addition. “Thanks, Coran. Thank you for that. See? Now is the perfect time to panic!”

“This castle has a particle barrier I can activate!” Allura says, eyeing Hunk in his distressed state.

Lance grins, hands resting on a cocked hip as he opens his mouth to speak. “Girl, you've already activated my par-”

Shiro’s head snaps to him faster than Keith can blink. “Lance.” He scolds, keeping Lance from finishing his line.

Keith huffs and crosses his arms. This isn’t the time to be playing around and Lance’s attempt to flirt does nothing but irritate him.

“The particle barrier won't hold Sendak's ion cannon forever.” Coran continues. "The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last.”

“Panic now?” Hunk asks, but Keith is sure he crossed that line a long time ago.

“No.” Shiro assures him. “We've just got to figure out our plan of action, and figure it out quickly.”

“I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day.” Lance suggests.

Keith scowls, ready to argue but Hunk agrees. “I second that. Yes. I mean, we tried to find all the Lions, right? We gave it the old college try. Couldn't do it. We only have three. We can't form Voltron. I mean, I guess we could form a... snake? Or a worm!” Hunk wiggles his arm around. “To go through that hole, Lance, that you were talking about.”

Lance nods. “Then, it's settled. Allura, you ride with me. One of you take the old guy.” Coran glares.

Pidge jumps into the discussion, standing toe-to-toe with Hunk and staring at him in determination. “We can't just abandon Arus. The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them.”

Hunk glares back. “Okay. If we run, then maybe Sendak will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth. We form the snake-worm thingamajig and we hiss out of here.”

Keith shakes his head, holding his fists at his sides. “Sendak could destroy the planet then come after us anyway. Staying is our only option.”

Lance steps up to him, leaning over with narrowed eyes as he pinches his fingers through the air. “Here's an option: shut your quiznak.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Keith sees Allura’s and Coran’s jaws drop open in shock. He crosses his arms. “I don’t think you’re using that word correctly.”

“What do you know, Mullet.” Lance scoffs. He leans in close and not one to back away from a challenge, Keith leans in as well, leaving them head-to-head as they glare.

“We’re staying.” Keith insists.

“Leaving!” Lance counters.

“Staying!” Pidge shouts.

“Snake!” Hunk emphasizes.

“Guys, stop!” Shiro intercedes. Keith turns with his arms crossed, anger simmering when he sees Lance do the same thing. He turns to the Princess. “Princess Allura, these are your Lions. You've dealt with the Galra Empire before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think is the best course of action?”

The Princess looks back and forth between the divided group. “"I...I don't know.”

“Perhaps your father can help.” Coran says softly.

Princess Allura looks at him in shock. “My father?”

Coran nods and guides the Princess out of the control room, leaving the others in tense. Lance is still glaring at him, so Keith shoots him his own. Shiro rubs his temples, only making Keith feel a little guilty, but that guilt disappears when he catches Lance’s expression again. 

They only wait a few minutes before the doors swish open, revealing the Princess standing proud in a suit of lithe armor with her hair in a bun. She makes eye contact with each of them. “You five Paladins were brought here for a reason. The Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon. It is our destiny. Voltron is the universe's only hope. We are the universe's only hope.”

Despite the earlier disagreements, Keith feels the air in the control room shift at Allura’s inspiring words, filling him with a determination he feels copied in the others as they stand taller. 

Shiro nods. “We're with you, Princess.”

She takes them to an armory where five suits of armor stand in cylinders, each color-coded to a corresponding lion. “Your suits of armor.”

They each admire the armor, singing their praises and bubbling with excitement. Keith admires his red armor, wondering what the matching lion will be like. 

“Alright, time to suit up!” Shiro announces.

The armor is easy to put on, with a sleek black bodysuit and harder components that click over the top. Despite all of the paladins being different sizes and the armors on display appearing the same, the material conforms to each body shape easily and ends up being comfortable and flexible. 

Princess Allura opens a panel and four horseshoe shapes float out, in all colors except black. “The bayard is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron. It takes a distinct shape for each paladin.” 

Pidge receive his first, watching as it transforms. The bayard keeps its small size but adapts a wide, triangular blade. Both Hunk and Lance receive guns, though Lance’s is a smaller rifle and Hunk’s is more like a portable cannon. Keith’s transforms into a long sword with a looped handle. He gives it a few experimental swishes and grins at how elegant it feels. 

“Shiro, I'm afraid your bayard was lost with its paladin.” Princess Allura explains.

Shiro shrugs. “I guess I’ll just have to make do.”

Keith silently vows to keep Shiro nearby so he won’t have to fight without a weapon.

They gather once more in the control room, Princess Allura back on her pedestal. “You’ll need to retrieve the Red Lion from Sendak’s ship.” She pulls up an image of it on the screen.

Keith swallows. “That's a pretty big ship. How are we gonna know where the Red Lion is?”

Pidge shakes his head. “It's not a matter of we, it's a matter of you.”

“Pidge is right.” Hunk adds. “Once we get you in, you'll be able to feel its presence and track it down.”

Lance nods. “Yeah. You know how you felt that crazy energy while we were in the desert?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it’s exactly like that mumbo-jumbo.”

“Keith, remember,” The Princess says, voice serious. “The Red Lion is extremely temperamental. You'll have to earn its respect.”

He bites his lip. A small part of him worries if he’ll even feel what the others are saying. Maybe this is where his involvement ends, and the Red Lion finds someone better.

“Alright, here’s our plan.” Shiro says. “The Galra Empire knows about the Blue and Yellow Lion, but they don't know we have the Green Lion, too. Hunk, Lance, you'll act as a decoy by pretending to give yourselves up. While Sendak is distracted, Keith, Pidge, and I will sneak onto the ship in the Green Lion. Keith and I will find the Red Lion while Pidge guards our exit. Hunk, Lance, find some way to take down that ion cannon. Everyone got it?” No one protests. “Good, let’s get that lion.”

The Princess and Coran wish them luck and they go their separate ways. Lance and Hunk go back to their own lions and Pidge leads Shiro and Keith to where he parked his own lion. The Green Lion is very similar to the Blue Lion, except it’s much smaller. Dressed in their new armor, the two groups fly their separate ways.

Once they’re in space, Keith can see the Blue and Yellow Lions offering themselves before the ship, acting as their distraction. Pidge hangs low as they fly to the ship, keeping out of sight and letting the Green Lion float at the bottom of the hull. The three of them make their way out of the lion via a hatch at its top. Pidge cuts open a hole using his bayard and they push inside the ship. 

“Pidge, what’s your ETA?” Lance’s voice crackles to life over the comms in their helmets. 

“We’re in.” Pidge responds. 

They propel down a long, dark corridor, making to a separated segment where Pidge closes the door, finally allowing the three of them to touchdown. In response, the visor vanishes from half of Keith’s face and he’s greeted with breathable air. 

As they walk, Keith tries to concentrate. He searches for the energy he felt back on Earth, but nothing comes. He wants to shout in frustration, but he notices that Shiro has stopped moving and is staring down the corridor, leaving them at an intersection of three hallways with his mind somewhere else entirely. 

“Shiro?” Keith asks. Thankfully, his voice seems to bring Shiro back to the present.

“I've been here before.” Shiro whispers. “After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Kerberos, they brought us here.”

Pidge steps forward, legs poised to run off. “"So, that means your other crew members, they might be held captive here. We've got to rescue them!”

Shiro shakes his head. “Pidge, we don't have time. We have to get the Red Lion and get back to Arus.”

Pidge stomps his foot. “But we can't just leave prisoners here!”

Shiro’s jaw is tense, but he puts his hand on Pidge’s shoulder and looks him in the eye. “Look, no one understands that more than me, but, in war, we have to make hard choices. Now, let's get moving.”

“No!” Pidge clenches his fists, glaring at Shiro with a fire in his eyes that could melt down the ship. “Commander Holt is my father. He and my brother were the ones on the Kerberos Mission with you.”

Keith feels as shocked as Shiro looks. Keith had only met the Holt family twice back on Earth. More recently, they had been each other’s company during the launch for the Kerberos Mission as Keith had technically been Shiro’s closest family member. But before that, maybe a couple of months before the mission left, the Holts invited over Keith, Shiro, and his fiancé Adam for dinner. Through small talk that Keith somehow managed to power through, he knew that Matt and his younger sister Katie were their only children. He had met her briefly at the dinner table, with her wide eyes and curiosity identical to Matt’s, but because she was a few years his junior, Keith had been too awkward to really talk to her. 

So, either the Holt’s had another child, Pidge wasn't related to the Holts, or Pidge was undercover. Another look at the inferno in Pidge’s determined gaze and Keith was certain Pidge was Katie. He had to mentally applaud her plan. His own brother had been taken from him by space and he’d dealt with it using his own methods. The concept of Katie sneaking into the Garrison to find answers wasn’t foreign to him, it was genius. 

Shiro must have reached a similar conclusion, as he shares a knowing look with Keith. Shiro had been close to the Holts even before the members Kerberos Mission were chosen, so he had to know. “Commander Holt is your father?”

“Yes.” Pidge confirms, fists clenched at her sides. “I've been searching everywhere for him and my brother. And I'm not going to give up looking when I'm this close, I won't!”

“I’m coming with you.” Shiro announces.

Keith whips his head around in surprise. He’d figured Shiro wouldn’t let Pidge go on her own if she chose to head to the prisoners, but he thought that they’d all go together. “What?”

“I remember where the prisoners are held.” Shiro explains. He turns to Keith. “You can go find the Red Lion.”

“By myself?” He hasn’t had any luck with the energy sensing that Lance had assured him would work. He was starting to think the guy was messing with him, but he doubts Lance would ruin an important mission just for the sake of making Keith feel stupid. 

“Minor change of plans, you’ll be fine.” Shiro smiles in reassurance and places his hand on Keith’s shoulder. This would normally ground him, but he normally isn’t on a strange alien ship looking for a magical alien robot. “Just remember, patience yields focus.”

Keith loves his brother, but if he uses that phrase again anytime soon, he’s going to lose it. 

A door slides open down the hall and the three of them scatter, Pidge and Shiro taking the corridor on the left and Keith going to the right. He sprints, Shiro’s words repeating in his mind to the rhythm of his footsteps. He comes to another intersection and he pauses, trying to sense anything again. But guards approach so he chooses one hall and continues to run. 

He takes as many twists and turns, having nothing to lose if he had no clue where he was in the first place. This may not have been the best plan when he skids to a stop at the exact same intersection he’d started at. Keith slouches and growls, wanting nothing more than to use his bayard to take his anger out on the walls. 

He straightens, grudgingly recalling Shiro’s parting words and closing his eyes. “Patience yields focus.” He thinks back to the feeling of the desert, to that tug in his chest he would feel when he was alone at night, desperate to find his brother. When he was wandering the desert, lost with no place to go. He thinks of that tug and then, he feels it, warm and pressing against his heart and definitely there. 

Keith’s eyes snap open and he smirks. “Gotcha!” This time, he takes the other corridor. 

The tug in his chest leads his around the ship. If he thought feeling the energy in the desert was incredible, this is on a whole other level. The tug is somehow more than a tug. It started in his heart and as he gets closer, it has moved through his body until he feels it pulse with every heartbeat. The feeling peaks, then vanishes as he enters a large hanger.

There’s the Red Lion, sitting proudly behind its glowing red barrier. “Bingo.” He moves to stand at the base of the force field. “Let’s get out of here, open up.”

He places his palm on the shield, but nothing happens. “It's me. Keith. Your buddy. It's me! Keith, your—I. Am. Your. Paladin!”

He remembers what Princess Allura told him, how he would need to prove himself, but he doesn’t know how to do that. The only thing he’s good at is flying, but the one thing here he could fly refuses to listen to him.

Keith thinks back to when they found the Blue Lion, trying to remember how Lance’s lion had let him in. Desperate, Keith tries knocking on the barrier like he did, but the Red Lion doesn’t make things that simple and stays behind the shield. He’s ready to try cutting it with his bayard when a few shots hit the barrier next to him. He jumps around, summoning a shield from his armor as the shots continue to rain down on him. 

“I'm bonding with you!” Keith informs the lion. Nothing. “Hey! Come on! We're connected!”

Keith summons his bayard and rushes forward, slicing down a few of the sentries. “You’re not getting this lion!”

Even with his sword, Keith knows there’s too many to fight off on his own without a gigantic lion on his side. But, if he can’t use the lion, there’s a control panel on his left and since this is a hanger, there’s a good chance it opens into space. He gets rid of his shield and bayard, activates the rest of his visor, and slams his hand on the panel.

Immediately, the floor beneath him opens and the vacuum of space begins to rip everything away. The remaining sentries are taken and Keith holds onto the panel, grunting with effort as he tries to close the doors again. But the force is too strong, and debris is starting to fly out. A gigantic piece slams into him, knocking the wind out of him and dislodging his grip. Like the sentries, Keith is taken by the vacuum. Meanwhile, the lion just watches.

Keith screams as he spins around, trying to catch his breath and remain calm. He could call for help, but the other Paladins and Alteans are busy fighting their own battles. Being alone in space is much worse than the desert. Here, he has no hope of surviving, even with his armor. He knew the Princess must have been wrong, they can’t have a dead Paladin. He closes his eyes, wishing he could fight but knowing he can’t.

A growl echoes through his mind and he gasps. Before him is the Red Lion, finally free and watching him with golden eyes. It scoops his up in its jaw and he doesn’t stick around, scrambling to the cockpit and sitting in the chair with a smirk.

“Good kitty.” Keith says. The lion roars in approval. 

He understands why Lance looked so starstruck in the Blue Lion. Now, Keith feels the energy all throughout him, like a warm fire that meets him in his shape. But it doesn’t hurt and it doesn’t scare him like fire used to, it just curls around him and settles as a smaller flame that flickers with personality. 

“Let’s roll.” He pushes the controls forward and the fire burns.

Keith flies around the ship, arriving as the Yellow Lion slams into the ion cannon while the Blue Lion hovers close by. The Green Lion flies away from the ship as Keith comes to meet them and his comms come to life. 

“You guys made it!” Hunk exclaims. 

“Kitty rose has left the stage!” Pidge declares. Keith wonders if they were able to find her family.

“Let’s get the heck out of here!” Lance suggests. 

“I hope I stopped that cannon.” Hunk worries as they fly back to Arus. “I could barely make a dent in it!”

“You did everything you could,” Lance assures him. “If nothing else, it’ll save us time.”

The Princess has them enter through the tip of the Castle’s central spire, leading them down a chute to what must be the Black Lion’s hanger. They all land before the door, audibly breathing sighs of relief when the doors open to reveal the final lion. This one is definitely the largest, with wing-like extensions sprouting from the back that add to its bulk. Keith watches as Shiro exits the Green Lion to stand at its feet, looking like an ant in comparison. Without his command, the Red Lion roars and Keith stares in awe as the rest of the lions do the same. Over the comms, he can hear the Princess and Coran cheering. Shiro makes his way to the Black Lion, walking in its mouth and disappearing. Despite this victory, the Castle’s alarms blare.

“Quiznak!” Coran curses.

“Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere.” Princess Allura informs them. “We need Voltron now!”

The five of them launch out of the hanger, finding the ship slowly making its way to the surface of Arus. Despite not having fought since retrieving his lion, sweat makes its way down Keith’s brow and he grips his controls tighter. He’s flown before, there’s no doubt in his mind that he’s a competent pilot, but he’s never faced something like this before, none of them have.

The cannon that Hunk had disabled earlier is fully operational once more. It takes aim and fires at the paladins. Keith dodges behind the barrier and looks back to see the rest did the same.

“Man, those Galra repair things fast.” Hunk comments glumly.

“We wouldn’t have made it back in time to get the Black Lion without you.” Lance reminds him. 

“Lance is right.” Shiro agrees. “You did good.”

“The barrier gets weaker with every blast.” Coran tells them. “Once that shield goes down, the Castle will be defenseless.”

“I can give you cover with the Castle defenses for a while,” Princess Allura adds. “But you have to form Voltron now or we'll all be destroyed!”

“Jeez,” Hunk mutters. “No pressure.”

Another blast hits the barrier.

“Listen up, Team Voltron!” Shiro says, voice reminiscent of all of the motivational speeches he would give new cadets at the Garrison. “The only way to succeed is to give it all you've got! This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?”

Keith nods.

“I’m nodding, is everyone else nodding?” Hunk asks.

“Yes.” Keith, Lance, and Pidge reply at the same time.

“Let’s do this!” With those final words of encouragement, the Black Lion leaps out of the barrier. Keith urges the Red Lion to do the same, the others following suit at his side.

Smaller Galra fighter jets are there to greet them, firing lasers so fast that Keith can barely avoid them in time. 

“Uh, how do we do this exactly?” The Blue Lion uses the laser on its tail to shoot down a ship that came in too close. Keith bites down a compliment at the efficient strike, sure Lance would somehow turn it into a jab against him.

“Good question.” Shiro falls back in line with them. “Does anyone have any ideas on how to form Voltron?”

“I don't see a 'Combine Into Giant Robot' button anywhere on my dashboard.” Hunk yells. Considering that everything is in a different language on his dashboard, Keith wonders if this is a situation where pressing every button would help.

The endless barrage of Galra continues to attack, each of them doing their best to fight off any that get too close. The Red Lion ends up swiping a few out of the air with its sharp claws.

“This is insane!” Pidge growls. Her lion holds back from the group to rip a lion out of the air and throw it into another ship. “Can't they just cease fire for one minute so we can figure this out? Is that too much to ask?”

Following Lance’s example, Keith uses the Red Lion’s tail to shoot down a couple more fighters. “We’ve got to do something!”

“Combine!” Hunk proclaims. Before Keith can ask for an explanation, the Yellow Lion slams into his side, sending his lion flying across the ground and giving him whiplash.

Keith grits his teeth. “Hey!”

“Okay,” Hunk concedes, sounding apologetic. “That didn’t work.”

“Quickly, Paladins!” The Princess urges. “Our energy levels are getting low.”

“Maybe if we fly in formation, we'll just combine.” Shiro suggests. “Take off on my cue. One, two, three, Voltron!”

Keith and the others take off to the sky, forming a v-shape as they soar through the air. “Here we go!”

“Come on, come on.” Lance presses.

“Nothing’s happening.” Shiro grunts.

“Wait!” Lance insists. “I feel something.”

“I do, too. I feel it.” Hunk agrees. “It's like we're all being pulled in the same direction!”

Keith feels it too, but it doesn’t feel right. There’s no tugging in his chest like the energy before, no familiar flam surrounding him like the Red Lion. It just feels unnatural and external.

“Uh, guys,” Shiro interrupts. “I think I know why. Look up.”

Keith looks through the screen. The world around him has taken on a pink hue, but not due to any magical robot formation. The ship looms above them, a beam erupting from it that has the lions trapped in its pull.

“What the cheese?” Lance yells. Keith can’t help but agree.

“Sendak’s ship is sucking us in like a black hole!” Pidge observes.

Another beam originates from the ship, this time from the ion cannon. It fires on the Castle and the barrier gives one last glitch before disappearing. 

“I don’t care what you say, Shiro,” Hunk babbles. “I’m panicking now!” He screams as they get pulled closer.

“This can’t be it!” Pidge can be heard slamming her fist on her dashboard.

“This is the end!” Lance mourns.

“It’s been an honor flying with you boys.” Keith adds, even if they’d really only had a half hour at most together doing that very thing.

“No!” Shiro’s shout silences them all. “We can do this. We have to believe in ourselves. We can't give up. We are the universe's only hope. Everyone is relying on us. We can't fail! We won't fail! If we work together, we'll win together!”

Despite the morose atmosphere only moments ago, Keith feels something change as they all shout in agreement. Unlike the false alarm with the tractor beam, Keith actually feels something building inside him. He feels the abstract presence of the Red Lion around him shift, not disappearing but just changing form, adapting to make space. 

And suddenly, Keith isn’t alone. Not only can he feel the Red Lion, but he can feel what must be the other lions, drifting around him like curious ghosts. In a fainter way, he can feel the other Paladins as well. No distinct thoughts, but sensations and concepts that flit through his mind as their lions come together to form one entity: Voltron.

Together as Voltron, they punch the ion cannon, preventing the Castle from being shot. 

Keith can feel disbelief pulsing through this new bond as all of them take in this form.

“I can’t believe it.” He whispers.

“We formed Voltron!” Pidge cheers.

“I’m a leg!” Exclaims Hunk.

“How are we doing this?” Lance echoes the question that Keith can feel them all asking, but he’s too exited to think it through.

“I don’t know,” Shiro replies. “But let’s get that cannon!”

As Voltron, they make quick work of the ship. Cannons of their own form from Pidge and Keith’s lions, tearing its hull apart until it falls apart completely and explodes into tiny pieces.

With the threat gone, they disassemble and fly back to the Castle, exhausted but filled with adrenaline. The connection vanishes once Voltron is gone, but the Red Lion is still in the back of Keith’s mind as he exits, humming with approval. 

Princess Allura and Coran are waiting for them at the Castle’s entrance, looking as exhausted and excited as the Paladins are. As they approach, Shiro comes up to Keith’s side and pats him on the shoulder, underestimating both his own strength and Keith’s energy. He sends Keith stumbling forward, making Lance snicker somewhere off to the side. Keith glares at Shiro, but the older man either pretends not to notice or truly doesn’t realize what he did.

“Good work, Paladins!” The Princess congratulates them.

“Thanks, Princess.” Lance sighs.

“We did it.” Shiro breathes out like he can’t believe it despite his multiple pep talks.

Keith takes off his helmet and shakes his sweaty bangs out of his eyes. “Heck yeah we did.”

Shiro frowns. “How did we do it?”

“I was just, like, screaming the whole time.” Hunk brags. “Maybe that did it.”

On Shiro’s other side, Pidge is staring at the ground, a frown on her face despite their thrilling victory. Keith knows that look, knows that she’s thinking of her family. From her reaction, he can see that her father and brother weren’t amonf the prisoners she and Shiro rescued.

Shiro lays a gentle hand on her shoulder and she looks up. “We're not going to stop searching until we find your brother and father. Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you.”

Pidge smiles.

“We won the battle, but the war has only just begun.” The Princess gives them a reality check. “I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these Lions.”

“Good thing you Paladins know what you're doing, because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again.” Coran pipes up.

“Totally—wait, what?” Hunk interrupts himself with wide eyes.

“We barely survived forming Voltron this one time.” Lance points out.

“And you only had to fight one ship.” Coran continues. “Wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them! It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe.”

Keith jolts at the title, seeing the surprise reflected among the other Paladins. He looks to his lion, sees the golden glow of its eyes like a sun just rising, and he smiles.

“Defenders of the Universe, huh?” Shiro muses. “That's got a nice ring to it.”

Keith couldn’t agree more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think! Especially with these earlier chapters, I'm trying to add some of my own stuff to the original set up but as we move along, expect divergence! I have a bunch of tests coming up so I'll try and stay on top of writing chapters in advance, so we'll see when the next one gets finished!


	3. Some Assembly Required

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins must learn how to form Voltron and use some interesting techniques along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo chapter three! Sorry about the wait, I had a ton of tests but I have a break now! I hope you enjoy!

Thanks to the Pidge’s generosity in lending Lance his noise-cancelling headphones, Lance sleeps like a baby.

 

Since their victory against the Galra only days prior, Princess Allura and Coran had tried to settle the new Paladins into some semblance of a routine. They had assigned them each a room along the same hall, with each having a bunk, a desk, a closet, and its own private bathroom with ten-thousand-year-old body products that Lance was both excited and terrified to try. They had been taken on a tour, though the Castle was so gigantic that Lance is sure it would take weeks before he could find his way from his room to the control room without taking at least fifty wrong turns. The Alteans had even done their best to equip the Paladins with suitable clothing.

 

Well, suitable clothing may be a stretch. They had each at least been given a pair of pajamas and matching lion slippers that was coordinated with their lions’ colors. Lance had immediately relished in the soft fabric and the look of absolute horror on Keith’s face when he was handed his own set. But aside from the pajamas, Coran promised to try and fashion a replicator that could give them more human attire.

 

The hospitality of Princess Allura and Coran was extremely touching and greatly appreciated by Lance. The two had only just recently learned that all they had ever known had been destroyed and yet here they were, gladly opening their home that must contain countless memories and a legacy Lance only dreamed he could live up to. He had only been gone from Earth for two days and he was already itching to return to his family. At least the Earth is still there. Princess Allura and Coran don’t even have that.

 

At the thought of his family, Lance gets restless and takes the headphones off, pausing the calm music in the process. If he sits here and thinks about them, he’ll just fall into an endless cycle of longing that he can’t afford to, at least not yet.

 

Instead, he vows to get up and make this day a productive one. He removes his sleep mask and sets it alongside the headphones on his bed. He almost rubs a hand down his face but stops himself before that ends in disaster. The night before, he had begun his tentative experimenting with the Altean products in his bathroom. He had found something closely resembling a face mask, though it was the same color as the food they were expected to eat and smelled like hot asphalt. Despite the risks, he had put it on his face overnight and was now eager to see the results, whether they be fantastic or terrible.

 

Lance slides into his slippers as he rises, stretching his arms and yawning as he makes his way to the bathroom. When he looks in the mirror, everything appears to be the same as he left it the night before, so that’s a good sign. He wets a cloth and wipes the mask away, painfully aware of every movement and waiting for the slightest thing to go wrong. Oh no, maybe this was an awful idea. What if it dyed his face? What if it gave him horrible acne? What if it exploded?

 

He’s too worried about his potential consequences to realize he’s removed the entire mask until he stares at the mirror in fear. He leans in close, running his hands over the flesh and searching for anything suspicious. Thankfully, nothing looks out of place. In fact, his skin looks much shinier than before, practically glowing in the dim bathroom lighting. Looks like Altean beauty products age pretty well.

 

As there’s no one around to show off his achievement to, Lance pours himself a cup of water and makes his way out into the hall, determined to brag about his successful experiment to someone scientific like Hunk or Pidge. He keeps a close eye on his steps and the number of turns he takes as he makes his way to the control room, making sure they match up with what he memorized. He arrives without error, mentally applauding himself as the door slides open and he enters the bridge.

 

Surprisingly, everyone else is already there. The Princess and Coran are standing at her station, her arms crossed and a frown on her face as she glares at the others, Coran obediently doing the same at her side. Hunk wears his own pajamas and rubs at his tired eyes. Both Pidge and Keith are wearing their daily attire while Shiro is dressed in his armor, minus the helmet.

 

“Good morning, everybody. What's going on?” Lance yawns as he walks towards the group with a grin.

 

“Coran and I have been up for hours getting the Castle back in order. We had to run a test on the alarms, and we decided to test you as well. Guess which one failed.” She glares at each and every one of them with a gaze that could cut metal.

 

“Hey!” Hunk protests. “You got to sleep for ten thousand years, man. Monday night, I was on Earth. Now, I've flown through space, fought some evil alien named Zarkon, eaten goo in some weird castle. That's a lot to process in, uh...I don't know. What day is today?”

 

“It's the third quintant of the Spicolian movement. Hump day!” Coran informs him.

 

Huh, who knew even aliens had hump day.

 

“It’s a lot to process.” Hunk continues and Lance nods in agreement.

 

“You must understand the stakes of our mission. Over the last ten thousand years, the Castle picked up distress beacons from the following locations.” Princess Allura uses her controls to summon a hologram with a frightening number of highlighted areas. “So, we have to assume that Zarkon has conquered almost the entire known universe. Earth is here.” She points at a tiny dot, so small that Lance can’t tell the difference between water and land. “An attack on your planet is inevitable.”

 

“Oh no.” Hunk mutters.

 

Lance stares at the small dot that is Earth. He understands the desire to take it easy and process what they’re going through, but seeing Earth surrounded by so many conquered planets ignites determination in him. He can’t let the universe down, he can’t let Earth down, and he most certainly can’t let his family down. If that means he has to wake up early and be ready for all kinds of sudden drills to keep him on his toes, then so be it.

 

He looks at the other Paladins and sees them staring at Earth longingly as well, all except for Keith who looks to the Princess with a scowl on his face that rubs Lance the wrong way. They can’t afford to be unmotivated. One wrong attitude could mean life or death and leave it to Keith to be the one to break the pattern. It ticks Lance off like nothing else.

 

“Exactly.” The Princess sighs. “Our mission is to free all those planets. Coran and I are getting the Castle ready to leave Arus. During that time, you have to learn to form Voltron, so we can begin fighting Zarkon.”

 

“The Princess is right. Let's get to our lions and start training.” Shiro commands.

 

“Wait,” Pidge says before any of them can depart. “But I want to talk to the prisoners we rescued from the Galra ship.”

 

“Ah, negative, Number Five! I have you ranked by height, okay?” He leans forward with his hand hovering at Pidge’s height. “The prisoners need to remain in the cryo-replenishers until tomorrow.”

 

“That’s right.” The Princess nods. “Now get to your lions.”

 

Another fun thing the Alteans had shown them since their arrival was a quick way to get to their lions. Each Paladin had a station on the bridge that opened to an elevator and took them to where their armor was typically stored, followed by a zipline, and a cool little vehicle took them up a lift to their lion and could be stored in them.

 

Lance can’t help but smile as he approaches the Blue Lion, feeling her welcoming presence wrap around him as he sits in the cockpit. Ever since forming Voltron for the first time, Lance could feel Blue’s presence in his mind even outside of the cockpit, though it was much fainter. Even with Blue always with him, nothing beat the feeling of harmony he felt upon sitting in that chair and flying out of his hanger to meet the others.

 

Hunk takes a little longer to meet the others in front of the Castle, but Lance doesn’t mind, knowing that Hunk is having a hard time adjusting to their new arrangements.

 

Still, he worries for his best friend. “Should someone go in after him?”

 

Right on cue, the Yellow Lion emerges from the Castle and lands at his side. “Sorry, guys, can’t these guys be parked a little closer to the bridge?”

 

“Alright, guys,” Shiro gets them back on track. “Let's just fly in tight formation until we're totally in sync.”

 

“Feel the bond with your lions and your fellow pilots until five become one unit and you form Voltron!” The Princess suggests over the comms.

 

Lance tightens his grip on the controls as they take off, taking on the same v-shape they had tried while fighting Sendak’s ship. They lap around the castle, all of them bubbling with excitement at the prospect of forming Voltron again. Lance closes his eyes at least once every lap, focusing on the sensation of Blue in his mind and trying to reach out for the others. Unfortunately, he feels nothing from the others or their lions, and he doesn’t know if it’s his fault or theirs.

 

With every lap that ends unsuccessfully, the enthusiastic cheers die down until nothing remains but frustration for all of them. Lance clenches his jaw, even the encouragement from Blue doing nothing to help.

 

“Clearly this isn’t working.” Shiro grits out. “Let’s set down for a bit.”

 

Lance follows the others to the ground.

 

“Maybe we should try building Voltron from the ground up.” Keith suggests.

 

“What do you mean?” Shiro wonders.

 

“I mean, let's try literally building Voltron, like, stacking on top of each other.” Keith clarifies.

 

Lance can already picture it and he groans. “Like a cheerleader pyramid?”

 

“You got a better idea?” Keith snaps.

 

Lance will give it to him, he’s always wanted to try out cheerleader stunts, even if a pyramid is the most basic move.

 

“It’s worth a try.” Shiro sighs.

 

The Paladins move their lions into position. Lance tries to imagine how Voltron was formed a few days ago. Lance and Keith were on the right, the leg and arm respectively with Hunk and Pidge mirroring those positions. Shiro took the top as the head of the torso. At least, that’s how Voltron should have been built if they wanted to do it brick by brick. Instead, everything was wrong. Lions were crooked, Lance was somehow on the bottom with Keith, with Shiro on top of them underneath Pidge and somehow Hunk ended up at the very top.

 

Lance feels great concern for the future of Pidge and Hunk’s tech projects if this is how they choose to build things.

 

“Hunk, what are you doing?” Shiro sounds exasperated. Lance feels for the guy, he’d feel that way too if he’d escaped from being a war prisoner just to be in charge of a bunch of teenagers meant to be the universe’s best warriors.

 

“What do you mean?” Hunk asks slowly.

 

“You’re supposed to be the leg over there.” Shiro elaborates.

 

“What?” Hunk scoffs. “No. No, no, no. I'm pretty sure that when we did it last time, I was the head. Right?”

 

“You yelled ‘I’m a leg!’” Lance lets go of his controls in irritation.

 

“Yeah, I was yelling a lot of things!” Hunk defends himself. Lance can’t really argue with that.

 

“Shiro’s the head.” Keith adds. Lance rolls his eyes at his voice.

 

“All the time?” Hunk makes sure. Lance thinks Voltron would be very interesting if the lions changed positions every time, very interesting and very confusing.

 

“Let’s just try it my way for now.” Lance can practically hear Shiro massaging his temples.

 

“Okay,” Hunk concedes, already lifting off to move. “But next time I call head.”

 

They reconfigure, finally arranging in a formation reminiscent of Voltron.

 

Shiro lowers himself down on the top, muttering to himself as he goes. “Okay. Arms and legs and I'll form the head.” He addresses the rest of them. “Feel the bonds with your lions. Now, channel your energy into forming Voltron. Focus. Focus. Is everyone bonding and focusing?”

 

Lance has his eyes closed, trying to feel something. All he gets is Blue, but nothing else. Lance slumps forward. “Why was this so much easier before?”

 

Shiro sighs. “Let’s take a break.”

 

“Sorry to interrupt, but I may be able to help.” Princess Allura’s voice says over the comms. “Yesterday, you weren't able to form Voltron until you were in the heat of battle.” The Paladins vocalize their agreement. “Perfect. Because I need to run a diagnostic test on all of the Castle’s defenses. This should help!”

 

Lance doesn’t get any time to process her words as lasers immediately start firing and the Castle’s particle barrier turns on. The lions scatter, pyramid formation forgotten as they sprint in opposite directions, screaming and trying to avoid the friendly fire.

 

“Princess, what are you doing?” Keith screams, his voice cracking in a way that gives Lance a small moment of relief to laugh at him. Keith either doesn’t hear or ignores him.

 

“Running a diagnostic test on the Castle defenses and inspiring you!” The Princess cheers them on, but sentiment feels lost in transmission with them running haywire. “I believe in you, Paladins! Let fear be your guide! Form Voltron!”

 

“Forget this!” Lance shouts. “I’m heading back to the Castle!” He flies Blue toward the barrier, ignoring the small rustle of warning in his brain from his lion.

 

He should have listened. As soon as he makes contact with the barrier, it stays in place, instead sending him flying through the air with nothing but his own screams and Blue’s exasperation rushing over him. He’s never quick to call anyone a sadist, but he might be getting there with the Princess.

 

“Please stop!” Hunk cries. You would think they were facing the Galra with the way they’re acting. “Please, have mercy on us!”

 

“You think Zarkon is going to have mercy on you?” Princess Allura asks. “He's probably on his way right now to destroy us all!”

 

The Paladins continue to scream, begging for her to be merciful, but she doesn’t respond, probably gone to get a nice cup of tea or something while they fight for their lives. Eventually, when Lance is starting to consider taking his lion and leaving the planet entirely, the shooting stops and the barrier disappears. The screaming stops, all of them waiting to see if it’s a trick. Lance is not going to take any chances, he’s the first one sprinting back to his hanger and into the safety of the Castle without question. Maybe the Princess finally took pity on them, maybe the Castle is really broken, maybe even guardian angels exist. Lance doesn’t particularly care, he just slides to the floor and thanks it.

 

Though Lance would love nothing more than to take a hot shower, fix himself a nice breakfast, and settle down with some music, Shiro makes them all stay together, insisting that this is only a short break before training continues. Shiro doesn’t stay with them, though, instead separating to look for the Princess.

 

They wander into a small lounge area not far from the bridge with a circular couch in the center of the room that sits in the floor. Too exhausted, the Paladins take their seats. Lance slides down until his back is almost level with the bottom of the couch, limbs sprawled every which way. Hunk’s not doing much better to his left, leaned all the way back. Keith sits across from them, legs and arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Lance narrows his eyes, heart beating quicker when Keith does the same. Lance doesn’t say anything though, just glares for a few moments before looking away. He’s too tired to fight.

 

Eventually, Coran and the Princess walk into the lounge, conversing about the Castle functions that need to be repaired. She clasps her hands together when she sees them. “You did it, you formed Voltron!”

 

“No.” Keith tattles. Lance should have known he’d be the one to rat them out. “The shooting stopped and the particle barrier shut down, so we just flew in.”

 

“What?” The Princess looks surprised, so Lance dismisses the pity theory.

 

“Oh, right. Uh, sorry, Princess. I had to turn off the Castle defenses to test the fire suppressors.” Coran says sheepishly under the Princess’s glare. Lance wonders if Coran is actually a guardian angel.

 

Shiro walks in, looking relieved when he sees Coran and the Princess but frowning when he sees the rest of the Paladins on the couch. “What are you guys doing in here? We're not taking a break.”

 

The Princess nods in agreement. “Shiro's right. You should be training.”

 

Hunk groans and throws his head back. “We've been training. When are we going back to Earth?”

 

Pidge crosses his arms. “I'm not going back until I find my family.” Keith nods at his side, which Pidge looks surprised at but also grateful for.

 

“Guys, there won't be an Earth if we don't figure out how to fight Zarkon.” Shiro runs a hand down his face.

 

Lance flinches at his words. Sure, he gets that what they’re doing is important. But their families are back on Earth. They probably have no clue what happened to him. What if they think he’s dead? He can’t do that to his family, even if he is some universal defender now. “How are we going to fight? We can't even figure out how to form Voltron.”

 

“Well, I'm not surprised.” Coran twists his mustache. “You know, the original paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side-by-side. They were like a pack of yalmors linked at the ears.”

 

Even without having any idea what Coran is talking about, Lance knows he’s not describing the tentative bond they’d formed during their last battle. “Wow. Yeah, that's definitely not us.”

 

“During the last attack, your survival instincts forced you to work as a team, but that will only get you so far.” Coran warns them. “You'll have to become a real team to have any chance of forming Voltron and then beating Zarkon next time. You should try working out on the training deck.”

 

Hunk lifts his head up. “There’s a training deck.”

 

Keith perks up at that and Lance snorts to himself. Of course Keith of all people would love a place where he could finally beat out his anger without violent repercussions.

 

Coran leads them down a few levels, the Princess conceding that working in their lions will do them no good until they can form a solid bond. The training room is hug, with tall white walls and blue exacts spanning an enormous hanger. Coran and the Princess have them stand in the center of the room, the Alteans leaving to watch from some sort of control room above them.

 

A mic screeches as Coran taps on it a few times from his position. “Two, two, one, two. Okay, listen up, guys. The paladin code demands you put your team members' safety above your own. A swarm of drones is about to attack.” The Paladins form a loose circle as Coran continues to speak. “It's up to each of you to do everything you can to protect the other members of your team.”

 

Shiro and Keith activate shields from their gauntlets, Lance mimicking the motion to do the same as Pidge and Hunk copy.

 

“Get ready!” Shiro advises.

 

A ring of round drones fall down from the ceiling and circle the paladins. Lasers begin to fire from them, random and unpredictable. Lance concentrates on raising his shield to meet each shot, ignoring the grunts and cries of the others around him.

 

Pidges shout draws Lance out of his trance just in time to watch him fall through a hole in the floor.

 

“Protect your teammates or there will be no one there to protect you!” Coran yells.

 

Hunk screams next, having been opposite Pidge’s position and now taking a swan dive into the floor.

 

“Time to increase intensity!” Coran announces.

 

The speed of the drones’ spinning and the frequency of their shots increase. Lance catches each one before they can hit him or his two remaining teammates. He feels pretty good, being hands-on like this feels much better than building a pyramid out of their lions.

 

“You keeping up over there, Keith?” Lance jabs.

 

“Just concentrate on keeping me safe.” Keith shouts back.

 

Lance scoffs. “Me? I own this drill. You're the one who needs to concentrate!”

 

Distracted by their banter, Lance doesn’t see the drones fall close to the ground until a shot almost hits his leg. Instinctively, he yelps and jumps away, but that leaves the shot to hit Keith right in the back. With a strangled yell, the Red Paladin falls into the floor and Lance winces.

 

Whoops.

 

Without Keith there to guard him, Lance is quick to get shot and sent through the floor. As no one is left to help him, Lance is sure that Shiro follows close behind.

 

The hole in the floor leads to a smaller room below the training deck where the others are making their way to the door.

 

Keith bumps his shoulder on his way out with a scowl. “Nice work.”

 

Though he knows Keith means it sarcastically, Lance figures the best way to annoy him is to cock his hip, smirk, and send a wink his way. He shoots him a couple finger guns to complete the look. “You too!”

 

For a moment, Keith doesn’t appear to know what to do. Then, to Lance’s surprise, Keith raises an eyebrow and a small smile twitches at the corner of his mouth. He walks away without responding, leaving Lance shocked and sure that look would haunt him that night. Having fallen just after Lance, Shiro pats him on the back as he passes by, a smile on his face as well.

 

What the hell was that? Did Keith just mess with him right back? Lance is used to the anger Keith always resorts to, the short temper that was notorious back as the Garrison. He’d expected rage, not whatever that was.

 

The Princess meets them on the training deck, arms crossed and expression displeased. “Due to your poor performances, we’ll be moving on to another drill. Paladins, please wait in the hall. This one can only be done in pairs.” She turns to him. “Lance, remain in here, you’ll be going first.”

 

The others leave Lance in the training and he gulps, trying to settle his nerves. He half expects the Princess to send out some invincible creature for him to fight, but nothing comes.

 

Eventually, Coran’s voice rescues him from the silence. “To form Voltron, you must trust in each other. This ancient paladin maze will teach you that trust. Your teammate can see the walls, but you cannot. So, listen carefully. If you touch the walls, you'll get a slight shock.”

 

Great, an invisible, painful maze. Lance frowns. “Wait. Who's guiding me through?”

 

“Take two steps forward.” That infuriating voice drones and if at all possible, Lance’s mood worsens.

 

“Oh, no.” He complains. “Not Keith. Why does he get to be the man on the mic?”

 

“Now, just sit tight.” Coran continues. “You'll get your turn.”

 

Lance swears to return every single shock Keith delivers to him.

 

“Like I said,” Keith continues, clearly as unhappy with this as Lance is. He resists the urge to stick out his tongue to the viewing room. “Take two steps forward, turn right, and take three steps that direction.”

 

Still stewing in his disappointment, Lance pivots and follows Keith’s directions, immediately getting rewarded with a sharp spark. It’s not awful, but it still stings and does nothing to calm him down.

 

“You did that on purpose!” Lance accuses.

 

“You’re not listening!” Keith fires back.

 

“You said, ‘turn right.’” Lance argues.

 

“But before that, I said, ‘take two steps forward.’” Keith repeats.

 

Lance huffs out a breath and begins to move again. “Two steps-“

 

Another zap and Lance screams, stomping his foot and keeping his arms close to his sides to avoid getting another shock. “We’re switching places right now!”

 

If the tone of his voice is anything to go by, Keith does not sound happy. “You’re not listening! Stop moving around and listen!”

 

“How do I know you’re not doing this on purpose, huh?” Lance defends himself. Being incapable of seeing his obstacles is disconcerting and he can’t put his trust in someone so easily, especially Keith.

 

“Why would I even do that?” Keith’s voice cracks. He lets out one last frustrated snarl before sighing. “Just, let’s start over. Turn around.”

 

Lance hesitates, still staring up at the control area. On the one hand, Lance despises the thought of needing the help of his sworn rival to escape the maze. But on the other, Lance is pretty sure the Princess would be willing to let him starve in the middle of the maze just to prove a point about teamwork. He turns around.

 

He hears Keith let out a long breath of relief. “Good. Now take two steps forward.”

 

Lance follows his instructions, pausing after each direction to make sure he heard it correctly before he executes it. It actually goes pretty well. He and Keith don’t fight anymore and they only have one more incident when Lance accidentally brushes his arm against the maze. Keith apologizes profusely and while Lance acts all huffy and upset, he finds the small error doesn’t fill him with anger.

 

When Keith announces that he’s out of the maze, Lance let’s out a whoop of victory and jumps into the air.

 

“Excellent work, you two!” Coran praises. “I knew you two would be able to work it out given the time. Why, you actually remind me of-”

 

“Thanks, Coran,” Keith interrupts. Lance mentally applauds him for sparing them from the story. “But don’t you think the others need their turns?”

 

“Right, of course!” Coran concedes. “You can head on out, please send in Shiro and Pidge if you don’t mind!”

 

Lance makes it back to the hallway first, announcing their success and retrieving Shiro and Pidge like Coran asked. Hunk greets him with a high five and Lance plops onto the floor to sit next to him.

 

“Nice job, man!” Hunk congratulates. His bright smile flips, and his excitement switches over to nerves. “Was it hard? Did the Princess get super mad again?”

 

“It was fine, Hunk.” Lance assures him. “And no, she didn’t even say anything, probably too in awe of my incredible performance.”

 

There’s a snort above him and Lance snaps his head up to see Keith has finally joined him. He has his eyebrow raised again, and his expression is surprisingly neutral compared to his typical scowl. “That’s one way to put it.”

 

Lance narrows his eyes. “No thanks to you.”

 

Keith only stares at him, and Lance hates that feeling. He hates the thought that anyone is judging him, let alone Keith. They stare at each other for at least a minute, caught in a standoff that Lance can’t really explain. At his side, Hunk’s head whips back and forth to try and catch every piece of the action.

 

Then, Keith inclines his head, mouth twitching like he wants to say something, then moves on. His footsteps echo down the silent corridor until he comes to a stop far away from Lance and Hunk, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and one leg bracing him.

 

“Woah,” Hunk whispers. “That was tense.”

 

“What’s that guy’s deal?” Lance hisses. “He’s been that way since the Garrison, all high and mighty and acting tougher than everyone else. What did I ever do to him?”

 

Hunk shrugs. “I don’t know, man, maybe he’s jealous of you?”

 

Lance huffs out a breath, immediately rejecting the thought. He can’t imagine Keith being jealous of anyone, certainly not Lance.

 

He watches Keith for a moment longer than necessary, seeing the Red Paladin scuff his boot against the floor, before turning away to wait for the others. Dealing with Keith feels like a problem for another day.

 

Pidge exits the training deck, sending Hunk in to take his turn with Shiro. Pidge doesn’t speak with Lance or Keith once he comes out, just sits with his knees pulled up to his chest and picks at his boots. This leaves the three of them in an awful silence that Lance both longs and loathes to break, opting instead to shake his leg up and down to release his pent up energy.

 

Lance knows they’re all new to being a team like this, but why is it so hard? Shiro is his idol, a star at the Garrison Lance had admired for years and Lance doesn’t even know how to approach him yet without caving and asking for an autograph. Ever since revealing his family’s identity, Pidge had been even more withdrawn than he was at the Garrison. Lance wants to help him, but he doesn’t know how. And Keith, he doesn’t even know where to begin with Keith. From their rough start at the Garrison to their rough restart while rescuing Shiro, Lance finds it hard to believe that the two of them will ever be able to work well together. Seeing Keith just reminds Lance of all his failings, of every time an instructor would tell him he wasn’t good enough, that his hard work meant nothing and it leaves seething with anger and uncertainty.

 

At least Lance has Hunk, his best friend who he knows for a fact he gets along with.

 

The door slides open on Lance’s left, Hunk standing there beside Shiro. From Hunk’s expression, Lance can tell his session wasn’t disastrous, but it probably didn’t go as well as he wanted.

 

“Alright, team.” Shiro says. “Coran wants us in our lions for the next one.”

 

They go their separate ways and climb high into the sky at Coran’s instruction.

 

“You'll never be able to form Voltron unless each of you has a strong bond with his lion.” Coran tells them.

 

Lance grins. “No problem. Me and Blue are best buds for life, for real.” Blue doesn’t confirm Lance’s statement, but she also doesn’t deny it so he holds it to be true.

 

“Perfect!” Coran proclaims and Lance bathes in satisfaction. “Then you won't have any issues with this exercise. Everyone, put your lions into a nosedive!”

 

Lance’s excitement wanes, but he follows the order. He can see the others do the same through the screen, though most of it is now occupied with the ground he’s plunging toward.

 

Coran continues narrating as they dive. “This is an expert-level drill that you really shouldn't attempt until you've been flying for years, but uh, we're in a bit of a rush, so here we go. Activating training helmets!”

 

His helmet goes completely black and Lance yelps, hearing gasps from the other Paladins as theirs must do the same. “Coran, what's happening? I can't see!”

 

“You must learn to see through your lions' eyes.” The Altean explains. “The goal is to pull up right before you crash into the ground. Feel what the lion feels!”

 

“Mine feels scared!” Hunk announces. Lance assumes he aborts the dive and he almost does the same, but the thought of Keith still going without him ticks him off.

 

“You still going, Keith?” Lance asks.

 

“You know it!” Keith responds. “You?”

 

“Going?” Lance laughs. “I’m speeding up!” He presses his controls forward, not even trying to see through his lion anymore.

 

“Oh, yeah?” Keith eggs him on but Lance knows he’s responding to the challenge.

 

“Must be getting close.” Lance comments. He only a little scared of crashing, the adrenaline masking out all the fear.

 

“Must be.” Keith repeats.

 

“You getting scared?” Lance teases.

 

“I’m not scared!” Keith growls.

 

Lance jerks forward suddenly and he knows they’ve crashed. Blue tumbles forward off of some sort of dune and Lance groans, sure that he’ll have some nasty bruises in the morning. Despite the crash and their failing of the exercise, Blue feels warm and amused, so Lance doesn’t feel so bad. “I won.”

 

Back to the training deck they go, none of them successful except for Shiro. Each time the Princess ushers them to a knew challenge, Lance is certain her patience grows shorter.

 

This time, they sit in a circle on the floor wearing light headsets that Coran had to blow the dust off of before handing them out. Eyes closed, Lance tries to focus, though his mind wants to keep drifting.

 

“Now, the most important part of paladin training is being able to meld your minds and focus on one thing: Voltron.” Coran informs them from his station. His calm voice reminds him of the meditation guides Hunk would listen to the night before a test. “Everything else has to fade away. This technique will be essential every time you form Voltron.” Even with his eyes closed, Lance can see what the others are thinking. Shiro sees the ship that took him on the Kerberos Mission, Keith sees the sad little shack he took them to when they found Shiro. Pidge sees the picture Hunk had stolen back in that shack, and Hunk sees his family. Lance knows the rest must see his family as well, it’s all he thinks about anymore. “So, relax and open your mind. No walls, no secrets between paladins. Come on, everyone, clear everything. Now, focus on forming your lion.” Reluctantly, Lance tries to push the thoughts of his family away and imagines Blue. He sees the other lions, though Pidge’s keep flickering to that picture. “Bring your lions together and form Voltron. Keep your minds open, work together. Good! Keep focusing! Only one to go!” The lions come together, but Pidge’s picture ruins the final product.

 

“Pidge, focus!” Keith snaps.

 

“That wasn’t me!” Pidge complains. “Hunk was rooting around in my head!”

 

Lance peels one eye open to see Hunk pushing his fingers together like he does when he’s nervous. “I thought we were open. You can look in my head hole.”

 

“Everyone has to be able to look in everyone's head holes!” Coran reminds them. “Clear your minds! Good!” The lions return and start moving together. “Almost there. Now, form Voltron. Yes!”

 

Voltron stands tall and Lance feels a swell of pride at them successfully completing an exercise. The moment is ruined when Pidge’s picture flashes in the place of the Green Lion and a flash of annoyance cuts through him. “Pidge!”

 

Pidge rises with a grown of frustration, throwing his headset to the floor. “I'm done with this! Look, I don't like everyone grubbing around in my head!”

 

“Come on, Pidge,” Shiro tries to reason. “We’re starting to get the hang of this.”

 

But Pidge only sighs, shoulders slumping and hands coming up to rub at his eyes. Lance is suddenly reminded of how young he is, how young they all are, really. “I’m just, I’m just tired, okay?”

 

Shiro must come to the same conclusion as he concedes and removes his own helmet. “Okay, let’s take a break.”

 

Coran comes down from his observation room as they all spread out for their break, bearing an armful of water packs. Lance finds Hunk and the two lean against each other as Coran wanders around to hand out the water.

 

“You have been working hard.” Coran agrees. “Maybe it’s time to relax a little.”

 

The door slides open and the Princess walks in, expecting to see them all working hard but instead finding them laying around. Lance only feels a little guilty because he’s tired, but the Princess has been running around the Castle all day to make sure it’s operational with no sign of rest.

 

“What are you doing lying around?” She reprimands. “You’re supposed to be training!”

 

“Just resting a bit.” Coran jumps to their defense. “You know, you can't push too hard.”

 

The Princess clearly doesn’t agree. “What do you mean, ‘can't push too hard’? Get up, you lazy lumps! It's time you faced the Gladiator!”

 

This time, the Princess stays to watch them with Coran. Though Lance can’t see through the small control room’s window, he can feel her calculating gaze criticizing their every move. The Paladins stand in a circle around the training deck, bayards drawn as they wait for the Gladiator. The tension is thick, and Lance feels a bead of sweat trail down his neck.

 

“In order to defeat the Gladiator, five paladins must fight as one.” Coran prefaces.

 

A hole opens in the ceiling far above and a tall robot falls through, bearing a long staff and wearing armor accented in gold. It has only a single eye that glows bright blue as it takes in its opponents.

 

They all pause for a moment, unsure where to begin. Hunk takes the first shot, screaming as he shoots at the Gladiator, but his cannon is heavy and unused to its wait, it falls sideways and the shots almost hit Keith. Just in time, Keith summons his shield and grits his teeth while Hunk shouts his sheepish apologies. Drawn by Hunk’s fire, the Gladiator sprints his way, faster than should be possible, and it hits him to the ground with its staff like he’s nothing but a doll.

 

Pidge rushes in next, trying to get some low slices in with his small bayard, but the Gladiator just swings again and knocks him aside. Determined to avenge his friends from the Garrison, Lance fires on the robot while yelling. The Gladiator approaches him, but Lance can see Keith coming from the side to assist. His rifle is knocked out his hands and the Gladiator spins to counter Keith’s strike, turning back to hit Lance on the head then jabbing him in the gut. For a terrifying moment, Lance is weightless and the Gladiator drags him around, releasing him to slam into Keith and sending the two of them sprawling on floor. They both groan, Lance wincing in sympathy when he feels his elbow connect with Keith’s gut.

 

“Get off me!” Keith recover, shoving Lance forcefully off him and sprinting back into the action. Lance takes another moment to rise, head still aching from the hit the Gladiator gave him.

 

He sees why Keith was so urgent, though. Shiro stands in the Gladiator’s path, frozen and eyes looking somewhere else. Keith lunges to block the strike aimed Shiro, asking Shiro if he’s okay. The Gladiator shows no mercy, throwing Keith back into Shiro with a kick that has him colliding with another person for the second time in less than a minute.

 

Thankfully, the Gladiator stops its assault, the Princess appearing behind it as it deactivates and falls to the floor. Lance lets his head fall back with a grown, unwilling to hear another lecture.

 

The Princess’s scowl is the deepest one Lance has ever seen. “That combat simulator was set at a level fit for an Altean child! You're not even close to working as a team, let alone ready to face Zarkon!”

 

She storms out of the training deck, leaving the Paladins embarrassed and exhausted. Lance finally gets the energy to stand, finding himself face to face with Keith as he makes his way to the door, close to Shiro’s side.

 

“You have bony elbows.” Keith hisses as he passes by.

 

Lance sputters. “Oh yeah? Well you have a bony…” He scrambles to find an insult. “Brain!”

 

Keith looks back at him in disbelief then disappears around the corner. Lance sighs and slumps forward. Hunk comes up to his side and pats him on the back. “Nice comeback, buddy!” He says sincerely and Lance smiles back.

 

Coran intercepts them in the hall, telling them to head to the dining room to recharge after their long day. Lance is too tired to argue. Any food sounds good right now, even if it’s bright green, grainy, and has been clogging up the Castle for ten thousand years.

 

The Paladins take their seats at the table, herded to the same side by Coran. The Princess is already there, wearing her dress and sitting up straight at the head of the table. They file in one by one, Shiro ending up at the Princess’s right hand, Lance sitting with Hunk on his left and Keith on his right, with Pidge at the other side of Keith.

 

Coran enters, carrying a gigantic bowl of the goo and setting it down on the table. The most eerie thing about it is that it doesn’t smell like anything, which could be good or bad. “Ahoy, young Paladins! I've whipped up a big batch of focusing food. After this meal, you'll be forming Voltron six times a movement and twice on the astral conflux!”

 

Shiro smiles at him like he knows what Coran is talking about, though Lance is sure none of them do. “Thanks, Coran, it smells great.” Liar.

 

As Shiro reaches out to serve himself, Coran whips out a remote and presses a button. Handcuffs spring out of the chairs and Lance’s wrists are engulfed, moving his hands until he’s locked together with Keith and Hunk. A quick look up and down the table proves that the rest of the Paladins are in the same situation.

 

“Oh come on!” Lance whines. He just wants some food, it’s been a long day.

 

“I saw a lot of solid individual performances today, but you're still struggling to work as a team.” Coran announces, pocketing the remote. Meanwhile, the Princess helps herself to dinner and begins to eat as if they’re not there. “So, welcome to the final bonding exercise of the day.”

 

Hunk eyes the Princess as she eats. “Coran, I want you to think about what you're doing.”

 

“This one’s classic!” Coran clasps his hands together. “You get to feed each other like a pack of yalmors!”

 

And boy do they try. But everyone is still disconnected despite being physically attached. Every time one of them tries to take a bite, someone gets caught by surprise and causes a chain reaction of spills down the table. Lance tries to move slow, but he keeps dragging Hunk along with him.

 

“Sorry.” He mutters, turning to apologize. His hand drags Keith’s his way, but a squelch in his bowl signifies a crossed line. Lance looks back to glare at Keith, seeing the Red Paladin’s hand resting in his food. “Nice, you defiled my food goo!”

 

“It was your fault!” Keith argues. “This is ridiculous.”

 

Princess Allura’s eye twitches. Maybe if she’d cut them some slack, she’d have a peaceful meal. “Do Earthlings ever stop complaining?”

 

“Can't you just give us a break?” Shiro sighs. “Everyone's been working really hard today.”

 

Keith jumps to Shiro’s aid, rising out of his chair. “Yeah! We're not some prisoners for you to toy with like...”

 

He struggles to find the right comparison, so Lance pipes up. “Like a bunch of toy prisoners!”

 

Instead of brushing him off, Keith nods. “Yes! Thank you, Lance.”

 

“Do not yell at the Princess!” Coran scolds.

 

“Oh, the princess of what?” Pidge scoffs. While Lance understands the sentiment, he still winces at his words. “We're the only ones out here and she's no princess of ours!” Not exactly the thing you want to shout at someone who just learned about their civilization’s demise.

 

The Princess can fight her own battles, though, and she slings a glob of goo through the air with her spoon, smacking Pidge right in the face.

 

The room is dead silent for a moment, then Keith narrows his eyes. “Go loose, Pidge.” With his and Pidge’s joined hands, Keith flings an entire bowl of goo at the Princess, only to be intercepted by Coran acting as a human shield.

 

He immediately fires back with a serving spoon, flinging the goo onto all of the Paladins. A large glob sticks to Lance’s cheek, and if he thought the texture of it in his mouth was horrible, then this is his worst nightmare.

 

“Oh, it’s on now!” Hunk declares. He shoves his face into his bowl, retrieves his ammo, and fires on the Alteans.

 

The war begins and everyone is involved. Food goo is flying through the air, hitting people and walls with no care in the world. Lance can’t even be mad about how hard it’ll be to clean it all up, he just feels the pent-up stress of the day soaring out of him and splattering with the food goo. He hasn’t felt this in sync with his teammates since they first formed Voltron, but now they anticipate each other’s moves like they’ve been flinging food goo since day one.

 

The battle finally dies down, leaving them all covered in goo and heaving from the effort. The Princess slumps into her chair. The Paladins look around at each other, each a unique mess. Lance spots a small piece of goo dangling from the tip of Keith’s nose and he snorts at the sight, quickly devolving into full on laughter. He sets off a chain reaction and soon all of the Paladins are gasping for air as they laugh. Even the Princess giggles and Coran wipes a tear away from his eye.

 

“Enough! Do you see what you’re doing?” If not for the Princess’s beaming smile, Lance would be concerned. “You’re finally working together as one!”

 

“Hey, she’s right.” Keith realizes.

 

“I actually don’t hate you right now.” Lance admits and he’s shocked at the eager grin Keith flashes at him, even more shocked at himself when he returns it.

 

“You guys thinking what I’m thinking?” Hunk asks.

 

“Let’s go form Voltron!” Shiro cries.

 

They all cheer when Coran finally releases them, sending them running off to their hangers and leaving globs of food goo in their wake. Lance can’t wipe the smile off his face as he soars through the sky in Blue, her presence humming in approval at the back of his mind.

 

And finally, the stand tall and together as Voltron. Lance can feel the thrilled energy of the others racing through their bond, the lions vibrating with their enthusiasm. Somehow, this feels better than the first time they formed Voltron, because this time it’s a promise. It’s a promise that they really can do it, that together they can really accomplish their goals.

 

The team find itself back in the lounge, too pumped to go to bed just yet. They’re finally out of their armor, and Lance stretches out on the couch to enjoy his freedom of movement, itching to head to bed and get all of the grime off his skin.

 

“Man,” Lance sighs as he stares at the ceiling. He feels a dip in the cushions and sees Hunk take a seat, Keith on his other side. “That was cool! I'm so charged up, I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight.”

 

“Not me.” Keith comments. Usually, Lance would expect him to turn it into a brag, but Keith is smiling softly as he speaks. “When my head hits the pillow, I'm going to be lights out.” For as long as Lance has known him, Keith has never shared this much. It’s actually nice to see him sharing, though the Lance from a few hours ago would be annoyed.

 

Hunk pulls the two of them in close in a tight embrace. “I just want you to know that I realized when we were in Voltron, we're a family now, you know? Like, we're totally connected. No secrets, no barriers, no nothing. Family all the way. I love you guys.”

 

“G-forces mess with your head a little bit?” Keith teases.

 

Hunk lets go of them and sighs. “Yeah, maybe a little. I don't know. It's been a tough few days.”

 

Keith pats him on the back and rises from the couch, bidding them goodnight. Lance watches his back until he vanishes from the doorway.

 

“You and Keith seem better.” Hunk comments. He watches Lance closely, a faint smile on his face and something in his eyes that Lance can’t quite pinpoint.

 

Lance hums in agreement. “I guess. It’s weird, I don’t know.”

 

“You’ll figure it out, buddy.” Hunk assures him, though Lance doesn’t know what “it” is. Hunk leaves next, exiting the lounge just as Pidge does.

 

Only Shiro is left, but he’s leaving as well. The Black Paladin pauses in front of Lance with a broad smile. “Nice work out there today.” He says. “You’ve improved a lot.”

 

“Thanks, Shiro.” Lance beams. Nothing makes him feel as accomplished as unexpected praise from his idol.

 

“Get some rest.” He adds as leaves. “We’ve all earned it.”

 

Without the others, the lounge is too quiet. He stands and stretches, groaning at the ache in his muscles, and heads out into the corridor. He wasn’t lying earlier, he still has too much adrenaline to sleep so he might as well take a walk around the Castle to calm down.

 

He almost runs into Coran while turning the corner, the older Altean carrying a bin full of chemicals and clothes stacked high enough to cover his face.

 

“Whatcha got there?” Lance leans to the side to get a look at Coran’s face.

 

“Oh, hello, Lance!” He greets cheerily. “Someone has to clean up the dining room before all that food goo gets dangerous, I’m afraid. Leave that stuff for too long and it’s impossible to remove.” Coran shifts his equipment. “Heading off to bed?”

 

Lance chooses not to comment on the safety of feeding the food goo to them. “Not yet, too hyped up to sleep.” He eyes Coran’s tower of products. “Need any help?”

 

“Ah, you don’t need to do that.” Coran waves a dismissive hand, almost sending his equipment careening to the floor. Lance catches a spray bottle that tumbles off the top. “You’ve had a long day.”

 

“I’d be up anyways.” Lance shrugs. He takes a few towels and containers from the stack, finally revealing Coran’s face.

 

“Why, thank you, my boy!” Coran leads the way to the dining room. “Have I ever told you about the time I made King Alfor clean with me? Why, that was quite the mess!”

 

Coran tells story after story as they scrub the dining room clean. Lance doesn’t understand half of them, but he doesn’t really mind. And if his clothes get dirty while cleaning away, he doesn’t really notice.

 

Besides, a little food goo never hurt anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think!


	4. Return of the Gladiator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins must come together and defeat their first enemy since their first battle, and to Shiro he looks familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof! What a week! I had another test this week and finals are next week, so this chapter is my break between all of those! Thankfully, when summer comes I'll be able to write more and hopefully be more consistent.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think!

After almost a month of living on the Castle of Lions, Keith thinks they’ve finally got a regular routine down.

 

Every morning, he rises a couple hours before the others to train with his bayard. Though he’s fairly experienced with his knife, if you consider secretly slashing it around in the dark experience, he’s not used to the length and the weight of this blade. To remedy this, he trains on his own using the Gladiator. He’ll often see Allura already up when he makes his way to the training deck, occupied with a data pad as she rushes from repair to repair with only a hum of acknowledgement in his direction. He’s both relieved for himself and concerned for her each time she passes, glad he’s not sucked into the monotony of preparing the Castle for launch while hoping she doesn’t run herself into the ground doing it.

 

By the time he’s faced the Gladiator a few times and showered, the rest of the team is up and meets for breakfast in the dining room. The first day, Keith had tried to take his plate and go but Shiro had stared at him in disappointment until he took a seat next to him, his gaze too reminiscent of how Shiro would look when Keith needed to do his homework.

 

During breakfast, Allura would brief them on their training for the morning. They tended to cycle through the same exercises they learned to originally form Voltron, but the Princess would throw in some new drills that focused on their bayards and combat.

 

After training was lunch, where they would discuss their performance and make plans for the rest of the day. If their work was satisfactory, Allura would give them the rest of the day to themselves, always hinting that extra hands were welcome in working on the Castle. Of course, Shiro offered his help each time, but surprisingly Lance did as well. He was often found trailing after Coran as they went from room to room, making small repairs and cleaning the dust off of ten-thousand-year-old relics. Keith took this time to either explore the Castle or do some more training of his own.

 

If the Princess thought they performed particularly poorly during morning training, she’d have them try again after lunch. No matter the result, they gathered once more for dinner before being sent their separate ways.

 

Shiro was trying his best to get them to bond, but Keith could tell he was running out of ideas he couldn’t employ during training. At dinner one night, he asked Coran and Allura if they had any board games they could play. Instead of leading to a fun family game night, this had sparked a long discussion on what constitutes a board game and if the concept really exists in cultures outside of Earth. Keith still wasn’t really sure what the answer was as Pidge and Lance had gotten very heated and ended with them both storming off, leaving the rest of dinner in tense silence and meaning Shiro’s plan ultimately backfired. Keith had also seen Shiro luring Pidge and Hunk into the same room by offering up his arm for them to study.

 

Keith felt torn over the attempts at bonding. On one hand, he knew keeping their bond strong was important to the existence of Voltron. Without a strong bond, they couldn’t form Voltron and without Voltron, the universe would be defenseless. They hadn’t faced actual battle since the first time they formed the giant robot, but Allura kept driving home the importance of their preparation.

 

On the other hand, getting comfortable with the other Paladins was dangerous for Keith. A stronger bond meant they would get curious, that they would get too close and Keith couldn’t run that risk. He was all too familiar with having and losing and he’d only just gotten Shiro back after thinking he’d been gone for good. He doesn’t need more people in his life that could disappear.

 

Despite Keith’s reservations about the team, they still work pretty well together. During today’s training they’d practice fighting as Voltron for a bit with fairly good results.

 

They enter the dining room, exhausted and ready for a meal, Shiro holding up the back. “Great job training today, guys. We're really getting the hang of Voltron.”

 

Lance pushes his hair back, standing at Keith’s side. Keith is still working on his opinion of the Blue Paladin. One minute, he’s snapping at Keith for so much as breathing but the next, he’s helping Coran perform menial tasks and complimenting his teammates. And he always insists on standing by Keith at every opportunity, sitting next to him at every meal. Keith honestly can’t tell if it’s a keep your enemies closer situation or Lance is genuinely trying to improve their relationship, but he doesn’t find himself minding. “Seriously, how far do you think my lion kicked that broken alien ship? Must have been like a mile!”

 

Keith rolls his eyes at the brag. “Yeah, that'll come in handy when the Galra challenge Voltron to a soccer match.”

 

“Hey, I did something cool and you can't handle it.” Lance shrugs with a grin. “I get it.”

 

“Your kick ruined our balance. We fell.” Keith walks away, already sure that Lance is glaring at the back of his head.

 

“Well, that falling part was Hunk's fault!” Lance calls out to him, his friend responding with an outraged cry.

 

“Alright,” Shiro steps between them, shooting Keith a warning look. “Save your energy for fighting Zarkon.”

 

Coran steps away from where he was waiting at the table. “Hello, guys! How was the Voltron workout?”

 

Keith notes that Allura is nowhere to be found, probably occupied with repairs. He takes a seat at the table, raising an eyebrow but biting back a comment when Lance takes the seat right next to him.

 

Shiro pushes his white tuft of hair back from his face. “We're getting there.” He looks around, probably coming to the same conclusion that Allura is still working o repairs. “Are you and Allura almost done fixing the Castle so we can leave this planet? I feel like we're sitting ducks here on Arus.”

 

“Just about!” Coran assures. “In the meantime, to get your minds off those duck seats you're worried about, I made you guys an authentic ancient paladin lunch!” He gestures to the food laid out before them.

 

Instead of their usual fair of food goo, there are bowls filled with strange alien substances. Keith can’t even tell what any of it’s similar too, seeing too many bright colors and strange patterns to be recognizable as any kind of Earth food.

 

To his left, Lance recoils as the food is highlighted. Hunk flinches and Shiro even looks a little shaken.

 

“Coran,” Hunk groans. “You just got me hooked on that goo and now you're switching it up?”

 

“It’s packed with nutrients!” Coran argues.

 

“It smells disgusting!” Hunk fights back. Now that he mentions it, Keith can smell a slight odor in the air much like a trashcan left alone for too long.

 

Coran crosses his arms. “I know, that’s how you know it’s healthy!”

 

Hunk shakes his head, gathering the dishes in his arms. “Coran, we're on a planet now with fresh herbs, spices, and whatever this thing is. A tuber? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head back to the kitchen and spice things up.” He turns on his heel and leaves through the door leading straight to the kitchen. Keith watches him go, praying that Hunk actually knows what he’s doing and brings back something edible.

 

Shiro looks around the room before turning back to Coran, who’s standing with a pout on his face. “Where’s Pidge?” Keith furrows his brow, just now noticing that Pidge hadn’t followed when they’d come here after training.

 

Coran shrugs, clearly still bitter about the Paladins rejecting his food. “He's probably checking on those prisoners we rescued from Zarkon. They'll all be waking soon in the infirmary.” In one last feeble attempt to get someone to enjoy his food, he scoops a bite up from the one bowl had left behind, hovering it in front of Shiro’s mouth. “Open the hatch. Food lion coming in!”

 

The Black Paladin leans back and crosses his eyes to stare down at the unwanted spoon. Keith winces in sympathy. “No, just no.” He darts around Coran, walking out and presumably on the way to find Pidge.

 

“You don’t know what you’re missing!” Coran calls after him.

 

Keith watches him go and looks back in time to see Coran sigh at the forgotten spoon. Lance rises from his seat and walks over to the Altean, plucking the spoon from his grip and shoving the contents in his mouth. Lance chews, swallows, and gives Coran a broad smile when he’s finished as the older man stares at him in disbelief. “It’s not that bad.” Lance admits. “The others _really_  don’t know what they’re missing.”

 

“Thank you, my boy,” Coran smiles, looking a little happier at the appreciation. “But you don’t have to lie just to make me feel better.”

 

“Nonsense!” Lance waves a dismissive hand. “My mom always had to force me to eat vegetables when I was a kid because I thought they were gross, but they were good for me and I eventually liked them. Here,” He scoops up another bite with the spoon and shoves it in Keith’s face. “I’ll have an unbiased party try it just for the heck of it.”

 

Keith stares down at the spoon and weighs his options. He could refuse to eat it, disappointing not only Coran but also Lance while also making himself look like an asshole. Or, he could suck it up for just one bite and make Coran feel better while also keeping Lance happy. He doesn’t know why that last point compels him, especially considering their track record, but it’s the last push his mind needs to make him eat the food.

 

It’s not as awful as he expected, but he’s certainly had better. It has no seasoning or spice to it and is very bitter like an extra strength broccoli, but Keith is still able to swallow it without issue. “It’s not bad.” He agrees.

 

Lance grins at him and Coran before returning to his seat by Keith. “See? If anyone would be brutally honest, it would be Keith.” Keith isn’t sure if that’s an insult or not, but Coran looks pleased so he lets it go.

 

Hunk steps back into the room, bearing the same dishes transformed with new presentations representing their new flavors. He sets the food down in front of Keith and Lance and the two don’t hesitate to dig in. It immediately tastes better than the plain food Lance made him try, with a nice kick of spice that Keith has always preferred in his meals. He and Lance battle over the limited amount of food, occasionally grabbing the same thing and engaging in a heated tug-of-war until the item either broke or one of them rose victorious.

 

Allura enters just as they’re finishing up, smiling brightly and hands absent of work for once. “They like the paladin lunch!”

 

Coran crosses his arms and looks away with a frown. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“I just got the final nebulon booster working.” She informs him, easily brushing off his melodrama. “We should be able to leave Planet Arus tomorrow and take the fight to Zarkon.”

 

Keith looks at her in shock. Considering how hard she’s been working, it’s not surprising that the repairs are completed. Keith is more impressed that she thinks they’re ready enough to move on from just training to attacking the Galra. It’s encouraging to know that the Princess thinks they can do it, even if they still have a long way to go.

 

Red lights flash and alarms blare as a screen flickers to life across the wall opposite the head of the table. Lance rises, his chair screeching as it pushes back and Keith stands as well. The dark screen beeps and an image appears, looking like the area just outside of the Castle. A small creature darts from behind boulder to boulder, appearing small and bearing two snail-like horns on its head.

 

“What is that?” Keith asks.

 

“I don't know what it is.” Allura squints at the footage. “Maybe it's a local Arusian.”

 

The creature raises a small blade as it charges forward, coming closer and closer to the Castle’s entrance. It looks a little ridiculous, something so small flailing around as it runs, but Keith isn’t so easily fooled.

 

“Aw!” Hunk coos.

 

“Doesn’t look too dangerous.” Lance agrees.

 

“You never know.” Keith reminds them. His fingers flex at his side, itching to summon his bayard.

 

As if expecting his reaction, Allura raises her hand to stop him. “No. Alteans believe in peace first. Let's go welcome them.”

 

“That’s adorable.” Hunk sighs as the creature swings its weapon back and forth.

 

“Hey, maybe we can knit him a little sweater!” Lance continues, both of them ignoring Keith’s caution.

 

The two of them rush out of the dining room, eager to meet the creature in person. Allura and Coran are right behind them, but Keith follows after a moment’s hesitation, determined to be the only person with any sense. “I’m not taking any chances.”

 

They assemble in the main foyer of the Castle and Allura opens the doors. Keith keeps on his toes as the others eagerly let the creature in, though he seems as on edge as Keith. He dives out of the way of doors and behind a nearby bush.

 

“Greetings.” Allura welcomes him. “We know you're there. No harm will come to you.”

 

The creature emerges, frowning as he takes them in. He’s about as big as Keith expected, only about as tall as his knees, but his blade looks sharp and deadly.

 

Hunk coos again, but Keith holds out an arm and summons his bayard before he can get closer. “Wait! He could be dangerous. Drop your weapon!”

 

The creature glares at him. “No one takes Klaizap's weapon!”

 

“Keith, put that away!” Allura holds up her arms, glaring at Keith until he makes his sword disappear. She turns back to the creature, Klaizap, and smiles diplomatically. “Please, kind sir, accept my most humble apologies.”

 

“Huh?” He seems surprised at Allura’s apology and lowers his weapon. “I am Klaizap, bravest of our warriors. Our village is over Gazrel Hill. I come seeking answers as to why the Lion Goddess is angered with her followers.”

 

Coran furrows his brow. “Followers?”

 

“Lion goddess?” Hunk questions.

 

“The one the ancient ones spoke of.” Klaizap tries to explain.

 

“What makes you think she's angered?” Allura probes.

 

“Destruction is everywhere.” The small creature points out the door. “In the past few suns, fire has rained from the heavens and a giant has danced in the sky.”

 

“I think he’s talking about Voltron.” Hunk whispers, though his words are loud enough for all of them to hear.

 

Lance sighs. “Yeah, we got that.”

 

“You have not angered the Lion Goddess.” Allura assures him, the look on her face revealing that she’s berating herself for not considering if beings lived on this planet. She shouldn’t beat herself up, it’s something they all should have thought of.

 

Klaizap narrows his eyes. “How can you be certain?”

 

“Because I am Allura,” She gestures with her hands. “And this is my castle.”

 

The creature gasps and falls to his knees at her feet. “Lion Goddess!”

 

“Please, bravest warrior,” Allura addresses him. “Take us to your village so that we may meet our neighbors.”

 

“What about our mission to get off this planet and fight Zarkon?” Keith reminds her. They’re so close to being ready, this detour won’t help.

 

“Part of the paladins' mission is to spread peace and diplomacy. Arus has been our host for 10,000 years. These people deserve our thanks.” Allura counters. She looks back to Klaizap. “Please, lead the way.”

 

Klaizap guides away from the Castle and through the countryside of Arus. At some point, Lance slaps Keith on the back as he passes to stand with the rest of the group. “Lighten up, Mullet.”

 

Keith tries to remain upset for the entire, but he finds himself loosening up as they pass through the scenery. Arus is a truly beautiful place, with rolling hills that stretch for miles and a mild climate that is comfortable to stroll in. Having always liked the outdoors, Keith finds himself calmed down by the time they reach the small grouping of houses that must be the village. The Arusians whisper as they pass, all the same height as Klaizap and just as cute.

 

Klaizap takes them to an Arusian with a single curled horn and explains that Allura is the Lion Goddess. The leader’s eyes widen as he hurries to greet them. “Oh, Lion Goddess, I, King of the Arusians, formally beg your forgiveness.” He gives a short bow. “Please have mercy on us and accept our traditional Dance of Apology as atonement for our wrongdoings.” He claps his hands twice and an Arusian girl rushes out in front of the crowd and bows. “Commence Dance of Apology!”

 

The gathered Arusians cheer and the Arusian dancer begins to twirl and hop, all with a wide smile on her face.

 

“Please, there’s no need for this.” Allura insists.

 

The King raises a hand. “Moontow, halt!” The dancer stops, balanced precariously on one foot. “The Goddess has refused the apology. Start the sacrificial fire.” On a hill behind the crowd a couple of Arusians begin a large fire with a small explosion and the Arusians scream in terror. “We must throw ourselves in.”

 

Allura looks as horrified as Keith feels, especially when he sees one Arusian already tied to a pole and being lowered into the flames, his expression one of grim acceptance. “No, no sacrifices!”

 

“So we may proceed with the dance?” The King asks.

 

Allura sighs and forces a smile. “That’s a better alternative.”

 

The King claps his hands twice and the first sacrifice is safely withdrawn as Moontow continues her dance. Upon its completion, she falls to her knees, the rest of the Arusians following her example.

 

“Oh, my!” Allura waves her hands frantically. “Please, please, rise. Thank you for that, but I am not a great being worthy of your worship. I accidentally put you all in danger.” The Arusians gasp. “It is I who should be apologizing to you. I am Princess Allura and these,” She gestures to Hunk and Lance on one side and Keith on the other. “Are the Voltron Paladins. Although we originally came from different worlds and have very, very, very different traditions,” She eyes the sacrificial fire that has yet to be put out. “We wish to live alongside you as friends.”

 

The Arusian King slowly rises and stares at her in awe. “But the mighty robotic angel, has it not come to destroy us because of our immoral ways?”

 

The Princess tilts her head to the side. “Voltron? No. In fact, that mighty robot is here to protect you. Let it be known that Voltron will protect every innocent being throughout the universe!”

 

The Arusians cheer at her declaration, taking it as their cue to rush forward and mingle with the Lion Goddess and her companions. Lance and Hunk are eager to greet the Arusians with hugs and Coran even shakes the hand of a few. Lance catches his eye and mouths the phrase “so many sweaters,” shocking a chuckle out of Keith.

 

Keith hangs off to the side, managing to avoid the attention of most of the villagers. One still wanders over and hugs his legs, nearly sending him sprawling on the ground with its force. “I don't usually hug strangers, but, uh man, you are cuddly.”

 

The Arusian nuzzles into his knee. “Thank you.” He replies in a deep voice.

 

They stay to mingle with the Arusians. Allura is still talking with the King and a couple of others, answering all their questions with a sincere smile. Coran, Lance, and Hunk are entertaining a small group by animatedly recounting their first battle, drawing gasps and cheers from the small Arusians. Keith is content to let them handle the social interactions, leaning in the shade of a tree and basking in the warm air.

 

Then, Allura stands up straight and the smile falls from her face. Her hand goes to her earring, which glows with an active communication signal. “Shiro?”

 

Keith’s blood runs cold. All of the peace he’d enjoyed only moments ago vanishes. “What’s going on?”

 

It isn’t Allura that answers. Instead, the ground begins to shake and the Arusians begin to shuffle around in confusion and concern. Keith looks to the sky. There’s a gigantic comet-like ship hurtling towards the planet’s surface.

 

“Oh no.” Keith can only think that Shiro must be caught in its path to have seen it before the rest of them. “We gotta get to our lions!”

 

Allura jumps into action, trying to calm the stampeding crowd of screaming Arusians and guide them to safety. “Everyone get inside and stay down!”

 

“I’m on it!” Hunk tries to rush along with the crowd.

 

Keith is ready to drag him back with a growl but Lance is ahead of him, grabbing his friend’s arm and shaking his arm. “Sorry, buddy, not right now.”

 

With a reluctant sigh, Hunk nods and joins them in their mad dash back to the Castle. Allura and Coran stay behind to keep the Arusians calm while Keith, Lance, and Hunk sprint off to go to their lions. Keith can’t focus on the others as they fly through the sky, can’t even focus on the familiar existence of Red in the back of his mind. He can only think of Shiro on the ground, in danger with only Pidge at his side, and that Keith wasn’t there yet again to save him.

 

They soar over the landing site, Keith letting out a relieved breath to see that the Black and Green Lions are already there. Whatever was housed in the ship is released, a strange mixture of an alien creature and machine with an orb hovering near its arm that whirs ominously.

 

“Lay down some covering fire so they can get out of there!” Lance shouts while Keith is still processing the beast.

 

 “On it!” Keith announces, shooting at the creature and drawing its attention upwards.

 

Hunk speeds in from the side, knocking the beast off balance with a triumphant cry. “Check this out! Battle-lion head-butt!”

 

More tension leaks from Keith’s shoulders once he sees Shiro and Pidge are back in their lions and safely in the air. “You guys okay?”

 

“Still alive for now.” Shiro responds, calmly enough that Keith has to believe he’s telling the truth.

 

“Are the Galra behind this?” Hunk asks.

 

Keith can’t imagine anyone else being responsible for this and he’s glad when Shiro voices this sentiment. “I think so, but I've never seen anything like it.”

 

“So, what’s the plan?” Lance wonders. “Shoot at it with everything we've got? Take out its weapon? Call it names?”

 

Keith rolls his eyes, biting his tongue to avoid pointing out how only two of those ideas could work.

 

“If we want to take this monster down, there's only one way to do it.” Shiro insists. His lion roars. “Form Voltron!”

 

Though they’ve formed Voltron plenty of times in training, Keith is still uneasy going into this time. They haven’t fought any actual Galra since the first time they defended Arus and a small piece of Keith’s brain is worried they won’t be able to do it. That uncertain piece is quickly smothered by Red’s reassuring presence in his mind.

 

Thankfully, they stand together as Voltron and land before the beast. It wastes no time in attacking, swinging its orb around to come at them from the side. They shoot backwards to dodge, but before the Paladins can recover, the weapon comes back from the opposite direction and slams Voltron in the side. They go sprawling to the earth, Keith uncomfortably jolting in his seat but otherwise staying okay. Keith and Pidge try to raise their arms and fire their cannons, but the orb just hits them again before returning to the beast. Taking the opportunity while they're disoriented, the beast advances and slams into them.

 

Keith grits his teeth as Voltron gets knocked back yet again. “I thought Voltron was the most powerful weapon in the universe!”

 

“Yeah!” Hunk agrees. “So how is this monster kicking our butts?”

 

The orb shoots out once more, racing toward the Arusian village rather than Voltron. They manage to deflect the shot back toward the beast, but barely in time.

 

“That was close!” Shiro sighs.

 

“We’ve gotta get him away from the villagers,” Pidge adds. “But we can’t take him down!”

 

“I got it!” Lance cries. “I'm going to power-kick that orb thing!”

 

“No!” Keith is quick to shoot down his plan. “The last time you did a kick, we fell!”

 

“Stop living in the past!” Lance complains.

 

With no better idea, they launch into the air the next time the orb is launch. Keith can hear Lance screaming as Voltron’s right leg extends, ready to land a hit on the orb. At the last moment, just before the kick lands, the orb darts to the side, making them miss and slamming into Voltron’s face as they crash to the ground.

 

Shaking off the hard landing, they’re quick to rise and prepare for the next shot. Keith holds back on telling Lance he told him so as the creature moves and they barely dodge in time.

 

The orb circles back around. “Pidge, fire lasers now!” Shiro orders.

 

“Got it!” Pidge affirms, raising green to aim. “Fire!” Instead on shooting at the approach with lasers, Voltron’s shield forms. Keith can hear Pidge frantically pressing her controls. “Oops!”

 

“No!” Shiro cries in frustration. The orb is getting closer, and Keith braces himself against his seat rather than wait for Pidge to fire. “Lasers, lasers!”

 

Before Pidge can get the shield to return to Voltron’s back and fire, the orb slams into them, sending the away in fragments and slamming Voltron on its back. Keith groans, still bruised though he was prepared, and he hears the sound echoed from the other Paladins.

 

“Every time we focus on that orb, we're blindsided by the monster,” Hunk says. “And every time we focus on the monster, the orb hits us!”

 

“Then what do we do?” Lance asks.

 

“Orb!” Hunk yells before any of them can answer.

 

It knocks them back once more. As they stand again, much slower than before, Keith wonders how much longer they can keep this up.

 

The orb crackles ominously from the tip of the beast’s arm, ready to shoot out and attack them. Keith knows they have to move, he knows the others know, but somehow, they aren’t budging.

 

“Shiro, we gotta move!” Lance insists. Keith finally realizes why they can’t move, Shiro not letting them. “Shiro, are you there?”

 

“Shiro?” Keith chimes in, concerned that a hard hit could have seriously hurt the Black Paladin.

 

“That sound...” Shiro finally says, his voice barely more than a whisper. “I recognize this monster from my time in Zarkon's prison. I know how to beat him! Listen, there's a loud sound when the orb returns to the base of the weapon, and every third time, that orb needs to charge up. That's this monster's weakest point. That's when we strike.”

 

It sounds reasonable enough, but Keith doesn’t know how they can survive before then. Hunk seems to have been thinking the same thing, and he voices this. “Okay, so what do we do in the meantime?”

 

“Defense!” Is Shiro’s quick response. The beast sends out the orb. “Pidge, we need that shield.”

 

This time, her controls follow her command and the shield forms before them. The orb slams into their shield, but they hold their ground.

 

“One down, two more to go.” Shiro counts down. The orb hits again. Keith can feel the shield weakening.

 

“We can’t take much more!” Hunk yells.

 

“Last one!” Shiro announces as the orb approaches for a third and final time. “Brace yourselves.”

 

After the last powerful strike, the orb retreats to the beast’s arm just as Shiro said it would. Keith raises Voltron’s arm, forming the arm cannon and feeling Pidge do the same.

 

“Now!” Shiro commands. Keith and Pidge fire on the beast, Keith grinning when their lasers make contact. But even with their fire power, the beast still stands once they stop, not even looking discouraged.

 

“It didn’t work!” Pidge wails.

 

“So, now what?” Lance ponders.

 

After a long silence, Shiro finally answers. “When I attacked him before, I had a sword!”

 

“Orb!” Hunk warns. “Orb!”

 

It crashes into their side and sends them on their back. Keith can hear parts groaning and shifting that shouldn’t be. “We can’t take another hit like that!” Pidge shouts.

 

Keith winces as they rise again. Red has kept quiet throughout the battle, nothing more than the silent presence hovering at the back of his mind. But now, she comes to life, shifting and urging him to listen. He looks to his right, watching as some sort of compartment rises from the dashboard. “Wait a second, guys! I think my lion's telling me what to do.”

 

“Well whatever it is, hurry up and do it!” Lance calls. “He's about to fire his third shot!”

 

Without him telling it to do so, his bayard appears in his hand. They’re thrown back once more, but Keith pushes forward, listening to Red’s prompting as he slides his bayard into the compartment and twists it to the side with a battle cry.

 

Voltron responds immediately, his bayard causing a chain reaction that spreads from the Red Lion. From his position as the right arm, a long sword grows and they all scream as they sprint forward, slicing through the beast before it can attack again. For a moment, nothing happens, then the beast explodes in a burst of light and the battle is over.

 

They all cheer, exhausted and satisfied to have another successful fight under their belts.

 

“How did you do that?” Asks Hunk, voice much happier now that all is calm.

 

Keith shakes his head and huffs out a short laugh, still in disbelief. He withdraws his bayard and looks it over as the sword vanishes. “Whoa.” The compartment slides back down into the dashboard like it was never even there. “Thanks, Red.” His lion hums, satisfied with his gratitude and a little smug at having saved the day.

 

They are finally able to disband Voltron, returning to the Castle and meeting Allura and Coran on the bridge after having announced their success. Allura’s smile doesn’t falter upon seeing them, and she congratulates them sincerely.

 

“All your training has paid off.” She insists, Coran nodding enthusiastically at her side. “You should be proud of yourselves, you’ve proven that Voltron has truly returned to defend the innocent.”

 

With the action over, the Paladins see off the prisoners they rescued. Coran sets them up in an Altean pod loaded with the coordinates to their home planets and set on autopilot.

 

“Good luck out there.” Lance says as they bid them farewell.

 

The one who seems to have become their de facto leader nods and smiles. “Thank you all for everything. We never dreamed we'd see our families again. But you gave us hope. You gave the universe hope.”

 

Coran shuts the door for them and the pod flies away. Keith hopes they make it to their homes safely, they’ve all been too far from home for too long.

 

The Paladins are left to their own devices once the prisoners are gone. Allura reminds them all to rest, as though they’ve worked hard they still can’t skip out on training the next day. Lance and Hunk groan at this development, but they’re quickly silenced by Allura’s glare and leave to get some dinner. Pidge stomps off, not even acknowledging the words of praise Shiro sends her way and Keith makes a note to ask Shiro about it later.

 

Keith heads back to his room for a quick shower and changes into clean clothes, tossing his armor down a laundry suit so it will be ready for training the next day. The adrenaline from battle is finally starting to wear off, but he has one last thing to do before he can go to sleep.

 

He finds Shiro on the bridge, staring at holographic maps of the stars. Not even Allura or Coran are here, probably off doing more repairs though Keith hopes they’re getting some well-deserved rest. Shiro’s massaging his temples, head and shoulders filled with a tension that only grows each day.

 

“Hey.” Keith tries to greet him as softly as possible, but Shiro startles anyways. His arms shoot down to his sides and his head whips around, but Keith is glad to see some of the tension in his shoulders disappear when he sees it’s only Keith. “You should get some rest, we’ve had a long day.”

 

Shiro smirks. “I could say the same thing to you.”

 

Keith shrugs. “I’m planning on it, but I just had to make sure you weren’t doing something stupid first.”

 

His brother snorts at that. “That’s not nice, I never do anything stupid.”

 

Keith raises an eyebrow. “Sure, I definitely don’t have years worth of evidence that prove you wrong.”

 

“Well, I can’t argue with that.” Shiro concedes. He chuckles, but Keith frowns as his shoulders tighten. “I just have a few more things to deal with before I can get some sleep.”

 

“Like Pidge?” Keith pushes, knowing he’s hit the mark when Shiro crosses his arms and frowns. “I saw the way he stormed off earlier, something must have happened when we were with the Arusians.”

 

“He’s mad at me.” Shiro sighs. “But I don’t blame him. One of the prisoners told us that I hurt Matt and Pidge is rightfully angry.”

 

“Sure, the guy was annoying sometimes,” Keith mentally cheers at the short laugh he gets from Shiro. “But you never hurt him then, I doubt you would now. If you did, then I’m sure you had a good reason.”

 

“I hope so.” Shiro looks to the map, the lights of the stars making his face looking more pale and tired than it already is.

 

Keith watches him for a moment. He wishes he could take Shiro’s pain away, he wishes he could take the stress from Shiro’s lost memories and from being their leader, ball it up, and just chuck it far into the depths of space. Since they’re on the topic though, Keith decides to ask what’s been on his mind for the past month. “Matt didn’t have a younger brother on Earth, did he?”

 

Shiro shakes his head. “I think Katie went undercover at the Garrison to try and find answers. There’s no way he would have let her in unless he didn’t know who she was, though she looks so much like Matt that I’m surprised he didn’t notice something was up.” Shiro turns from the star map. “I don’t think Pidge is ready to tell us yet, though, so don’t mention it.”

 

Keith raises his hands. “That secret’s safe with me, it’s not mine to tell.”

 

“Good.” Shiro stretches his arms. “I should go try to talk to Pidge, maybe the walk will jog my memory.”

 

Keith bites his lip, aching to tell Shiro one more thing but afraid of making him worry more. It doesn’t matter though, because Shiro can immediately tell that something’s up. “What is it?”

 

“He never gave up on you.” Keith forces the words out of his mouth before he can regret it, even if Shiro freezes. “He never gave up on me, either. He would check in on me from time to time, make sure I was eating and sleeping.”

 

Shiro remains silent for a moment before he lets out a long breath, likes he’s trying to push out all the memories. “I’m glad he was there for you.” He says slowly, careful of his words. “I’m glad you weren’t alone while I was gone, but we can talk about it later. We’ve had a long day.”

 

“Okay.” Keith whispers, guilt already setting in.

 

Shiro nods and squeezes his shoulder as he passes by, the door hissing as it opens and shuts for him. The bridge is too quiet, the star map still hovering in the air. Keith walks up to it, squinting to see if he recognizes any of the stars and planets that blink innocently. To his surprise, he can see Earth in the dead center, so small and insignificant that Keith can barely believe it exists at all.

 

Then, he swipes his hand over the control panel and the hologram vanishes, sending the bridge into a soft darkness only cut by the crystal shimmering above him.

 

He leaves the way Shiro did, forcing all thoughts of Earth and its inhabitants to the back of his mind. They’ve had a long day, after all, and those can wait until morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Soon, we'll getting to more of my own plot and character development as we move away from the actual show!


	5. The Fall of the Castle of Lions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A celebration turns into a nightmare for the Paladins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally free! Now that it's summer, hopefully I'll have more time and motivation to write. Thank you to everyone who is sticking around to read and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

When Princess Allura announced that they would be having a celebration with the Arusians after their victory against the Gladiator, Lance wasn’t sure what to think.

 

He loves parties, he always has. He loves the music and the dancing and the food and the laughing and the happiness that would fill the air. Parties remind him of his family, of the crazy gatherings that would bring them all together from their separate corners of life, even if it was just for one night.

 

But recently, thinking of his family has become a double-edged sword. It causes him both joy and pain, often at the same time. Thinking of his mother’s laugh makes him laugh too, but it also reminds him how long it’s been since he last heard it. Recalling the last time he had lunch with his sister makes him smile, but it just rubs in how long ago he last saw her.

 

Up in space, missing his family is entirely different from how it was at the Garrison. At least there, he could make video calls and send texts and receive care packages filled with home-baked goods and cards from his nieces and nephews. At the Garrison, there was never a doubt in his mind that he would see them again.

 

Now, though, he doesn’t know what to expect. Who knows when they’ll return to Earth and be able to see their families. Lance doesn’t even have any photos with him, not knowing that when he stumbled on Shiro in that hospital he wouldn’t be staying. He can only see his family in his memories, most vivid when they use the headpieces to bond. But even with that, he’s scared he’s going to start forgetting what the look like.

 

So, when Allura says there’s a party, Lance does his best to push down his thoughts of home and have a good time. They’ve been working hard and deserve a break, so he’ll just have to make the most of it.

 

The Arusians arrive just after sunset, all wide eyes and wonder as they are welcomed into the grand castle with open arms. Allura gives them free reign, excluding the bridge and the lions’ hangers, and leaves the entrance open so they can move between the foyer and outside as they mingle. Lance doesn’t think that’s the best idea, especially since the Galra know their location and have already attacked. From the frown on Shiro’s face, Lance can tell he’s thinking the same thing.

 

Coran sends various snacks and drinks floating around the room on hovering plates, allowing each guest to control their intake. Lance can see plenty of Arusians taking advantage of this fact. Some are hogging the trays, only setting them free once they’ve cleaned them of their treats and beverages. Others dangle from the trays as they fly, using them as toys rather than a convenient butler service. Coran doesn’t seem to mind, in fact, Lance can see him smiling with pride as the Arusians continue to devour his food with no sign of stopping in sight. The guy definitely deserves the appreciation, especially considering no one but Allura tends to enjoy his eccentric cooking style.

 

Lance finds Hunk in the crowd and moves in his direction, determined to spend the majority of the night with his best friend who waves in greeting. If there’s any hope of him having a fun time at this party, his best shot is to stay around Hunk. They’ve known each other for long enough that they can feed off of each other’s energy in situations like this. Besides, Hunk is like family to him, so if he’s missing his right now, Hunk is the closest thing he has.

 

He’s almost there when someone comes up to his side. It's Keith, having weaved his way through the crowd, carefully avoiding contact with anyone as he comes to a stop at his side. His face is devoid of emotion, an expression that Lance has come to learn displays Keith’s indifference to many situations. Keith doesn’t have a large variety of expressions, ranging from rage to a small smile Lance had only seen a few times before when they excelled in training. Keith only ever seems happy during their training sessions, not that Lance watches him that closely, but he’s noticed that Keith is always itching to burn off energy and tends to be more temperamental when the team is stagnate. Lance wonders how that feeling translates to an event like this, if the potential social interactions help him settle or if they make him more tense. Lance isn’t sure if he can tell, and he certainly is incapable of getting close enough to Keith to find out.

 

If Keith was a mystery at the Garrison, he’s a gigantic enigma now. Lance can’t get a solid read on him no matter how hard he tries. He thought that maybe since they’d been training and sharing the same space over the past month, he might be able to pick up more information than the guy’s very small capacity to make facial expressions. But Lance has been unsuccessful. Just like on Earth, Keith is just out of reach, and it annoys Lance more than he thinks it should.

 

But Keith’s chosen to stick by Lance and Hunk for the moment, so this might be a good place to make some progress.

 

Before Lance can interrogate Keith on his choice of company, Allura calls for their attention. At the top of the stairs, she stands with the King and a few more Arusians, a cautious smile on her face. She nods at the King and he clears his throat, giving the Arusians near him pointed stares as they climb on top of each other in two oddly shaped towers.

 

“As a token of our gratitude for saving our lives, we have a short production on the epic battle!” The King announces, stepping to the side so the two towers are clearly visible to the crowd.

 

The two towers shuffle back and forth across the floor as the King narrates, their movements jerky as they exchange half-hearted jabs. The tower that Lance suspects represents Voltron shoves its leaf forward, apparently mimicking their sword. “The monster fell from the sky! It was an epic battle, but Voltron was victorious!”

 

The base Arusian of one of the towers kicks out with their tiny leg and Lance almost coos. But in a moment of confusion, the Arusians representing Voltron fall to the floor and the King glares. “No. I said, Voltron was victorious!”

 

The fallen Arusians scramble to reassemble and stick out their makeshift sword with a battle cry. The correct group of Arusians collapses and the crowd cheers.

 

Allura steps forward, clapping her hands with the same smile on her face. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for that-” She pauses, her expression bordering on a wince, and Lance has to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. “Wonderful production. It saddens me that we must leave tomorrow, but we must continue our battle with Zarkon and spread peace throughout the universe.”

 

Lance almost forgot about that, so caught up in the post-battle adrenaline and anticipation for the party. Allura had announced that the preparations were finally ready for the Castle to take off as the apparent ship it was meant to be. Lance was excited for their journey to kick off into space, but he was also nervous. Though this planet wasn’t even close to home, there was a certain feeling of security that came with having a stable resting place. Here, they had a routine. In space, Lance isn’t sure what is going to change.

 

Allura holds out a small device for the King, looking like a little smaller than a cellphone with no screen and a giant button in the center. “Your Highness, please accept this gift. This will allow you to contact us anytime you need help. Arus will be the first planet in the Voltron Alliance.”

 

The King takes the device and beams at the Princess, lifting it above his head to show it to his people. “Hoorah!” The Arusians cheer once more and Lance can’t help but smile at their enthusiasm.

 

With the party returning to normal, Hunk makes his way through the crowd to where Lance and Keith are standing. Lance greets him with a hug smile that is eagerly returned.

 

“We need something like that.” Hunk muses.

 

Lance raises an eyebrow. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Keith mouth pull into a frown in confusion. “Like what?”

 

“You know, like, a cheer. Like, a team cheer that we do.” Hunk elaborates.

 

The idea is reminiscent of the cheerleader pyramid on their first day of training, but Lance likes it. “Yeah, okay. How about, uh, I say 'Vol' and you say 'Tron.' Vol-”

 

Keith squints his eyes and tilts his head. “Voltron?”

 

Lance blinks at him in disbelief and shakes both his head and hands back and forth. “No, no, no, no, no. The cheer includes the instructions. I say 'Vol' and you say...”

 

Keith juts his chin forward in a pout. Despite Lance’s earlier thoughts on how stoic he tends to be, Keith’s confusion is clear now. “Voltron?”

 

Lance looks to Hunk, who just shrugs in response. He begins to reevaluate his interactions with Keith. How many times had he said something and teased Keith relentlessly when he didn’t get it? As much as he irritates him, Lance feels a little guilty and places a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “We’ll work on it.” He promises.

 

His eyes remain narrowed and suspicious for a few more moments, seemingly trying to determine if Lance is making fun of him. Eventually, he must be satisfied as he shrugs. The motion makes Lance’s hand fall away.

 

Their small group falls into an uncomfortable silence that makes his skin itch. Trying to relieve himself of the situation, Lance reaches out to a nearby floating tray, grabs the first drink his hand touches, and immediately takes a swig. Before he can even swallow it he gags and spits it out to the side, luckily out of the line of fire of Hunk and Keith.

 

He ignores the concerned stare from Hunk and the confusion from Keith, seeing Coran out of the corner of his eye and reaching out for him. “Coran, what is this?”

 

Coran peers forward to look into Lance’s cup and beams. “Oh, this is nunvill, the nectar of the gods.”

 

Lance seriously doubts that and tries to rub it off of his tongue. “It tastes like hot dog water and feet.”

 

The Altean seems unperturbed, sprinkling a little from his own cup onto his mustache to make it glisten. “It makes a wonderful hair tonic as well!”

 

He dances away, leaving Lance to paw at his mouth and ponder why Alteans consume such crazy things. Hunk and Keith approach him on each side, sharing glances over Lance’s head as he remains bent at the waste, breathing heavily through his mouth to try and get rid of the taste.

 

“Is it really that bad?” Keith asks.

 

Lance looks up at him with a glare, seething at the dubious glance staring back. “How does it look, Keith? Why don’t you try it?”

 

Keith looks suspicious. “If it’s making you look this bad? No thank you.”

 

Lance grins. “What, are you scared?”

 

That gets the reaction he wanted. Keith’s cheeks flush and his eyes narrow. They glare at each other, Lance purposely trying to egg him on and Keith seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

 

“Fine.” Keith snaps. He swipes a cup from a nearby floating tray and downs it in one gulp as Lance scoots to the side, trying to stay out of the line of fire.

 

As predicted, Keith’s expression falls and he turns to side to spit out the nunvill. Unfortunately, Hunk is right there in the line of fire. He tries to step out of the way, but the spray comes too fast and it covers the front of Hunk’s armor with a purple hue. Lance winces in sympathy, Keith’s face falling when he realizes what he’s done.

 

Hunk turns away, his face hidden so neither of them can see how he’s reacting. He jolts his face back toward them suddenly, holding two skewered snacks in front of his eyes that he must have taken from a nearby tray. “My eyes!”

 

The three of stand in shocked silence for a second, then they all burst into laughter. Keith’s head tilts back with the force of it, eyes shut and mouth wider than Lance has ever seen it, even in training. He looks much less tense now, much more relaxed despite the crowded atmosphere. Hunk clutches his gut as his laughs fade into chuckles. Lance has to wipe a few tears of mirth from the corners of his eyes.

 

He grabs another glass once they’ve calmed down. “Your turn, buddy.” Lance pushes it out in Hunk’s direction.

 

Hunk shakes his head and gestures to the front of his armor. Thankfully, almost all of the drink has slid off onto the floor. “No thanks, I think I’ve had enough.”

 

Lance smells the contents of the cup and shudders. He can see his reflection staring back from the lavender surface. His amusement from mere moments ago fades away and he sighs. “I guess we should get used to this space juice. Who knows when we'll get back home again?”

 

Hunk sighs as well. “Yeah, if ever.”

 

Keith glances back and forth between him, appearing confused at the sudden mood change. But Lance can’t focus on him right now, he can only process Hunk’s words and frown. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, if this Zarkon guy has been ruling for 10,000 years, how long do you think it will take for us to fix it?” Hunk scuffs his shoes against the floor. “You know, if we live.”

 

“We have to.” Lance protests. “If we don’t make it back, we’ll never see our families again. I won’t get to visit Varadero beach again, or feel my mom’s hugs..”

 

As he trails off, Lance realizes his mistake. This entire time, he’d been doing a fairly decent job at pushing away the thoughts of his family. But now that he’s started, the floodgates are open and he can’t stop. The noise of the party feels like too much without the sounds of his siblings and cousins mixed in. His eyes are starting to water again, this time not because of mirth, and he hates that he can feel Keith’s gaze on him, that he’s witnessing him fall apart.

 

“I'm sorry.” Lance excuses himself, shoving his cup into Hunk’s hands and dragging a hand down his face. He feels drained. “I think this nunvill is getting to me. I gotta go.”

 

Lance moves away and hurries up the stairs, ignoring Hunk’s calls and practically running until he’s far down the corridor. The sounds from the party are fading and the memories swirling around his head are starting to feel more bearable, but no less intense. He doesn’t know where he’s going, he doesn’t really care, but he just needs somewhere private to gather his thoughts and come to terms with the harsh reality that they might not make it back to Earth.

 

He looks up to see the control room, the windows dark and light coming from the crystal and highlights around Allura’s station. Figuring this is as good a place as anywhere else, Lance takes a seat at the edge of Allura’s dais, facing away from the door with his head in his hands. He focuses on breathing, on keeping the tears falling down his cheeks to a minimum.

 

Lance doesn’t know how long he’s been sitting there when the door swishes open. He freezes, hurriedly wiping his face and praying that he doesn’t look too bad. He’s not sure who to expect, but he’s not sure he wants anyone around at the moment.

 

“Mind if I join you?” Coran’s voice is soft and Lance sags in relief. Out of all of the people who could have walked in, he’s glad it’s him.

 

“How far away from Earth do you think we are, Coran?” Lance asks as the Altean makes his way across the room to stand at his side.

 

“Let's take a look.” Coran steps forward to his control panel, pressing a few buttons. The room explodes with color and light as a holographic map of the stars pops up. He points at a tiny dot near the center. “Earth’s right here.”

 

As such a small speck, almost indistinguishable from the other stars and planets, Earth looks so insignificant, like it’s nothing in the scope of all things. Lance supposes it is, but that doesn’t stop his heart from throbbing longingly at the sight of it.

 

“And we’re all the way…” Coran raises his arms and essentially scrolls through the universe. He keeps going and going. “Over here.”

 

The stars speed by, Lance’s face falling and heart aching the longer it goes on. “You ever notice how far the planets are from each other, Coran?”

 

Coran scoffs. “Yes, haven't you been paying attention?” Finally, he stops the stars and points at another small dot.

 

Lance rises and walks closer, his gaze zeroing in on Arus. “Yeah, but I mean, like, they're really, really far away. Like, say, Earth?” He can picture the ocean, the waves crashing against smooth sand as his nieces and nephews play in the tide, but all he can see it the bright dot that is Arus. “It's so far, I can't even see it. The blue oceans, the white clouds, green grass... I can't see any of it.”

 

“You miss Earth.” Coran hums, placing a hand on Lance’s shoulder. Somehow, the weight makes him feel lighter. “I understand. I miss Altea.”

 

“I know we're supposed to be brave Paladins and Defenders of the Universe or whatever, but, honestly?” Lance sighs. “I just want to go home.”

 

He can feel Coran’s melancholy mixing with his own, the pain of losing a home tangible in the quiet room. But this isn’t the time for empty words and pity, just unity.

 

“If I could go home, I would.” Coran agrees.

 

“I miss rain, and splashing in puddles.” Lance adds.

 

“Rain?”

 

He hadn’t even considered that Altea might not have had rain. “Yeah. It's water that falls from the sky?”

 

“Oh, we had that on Altea. Only, it wasn't water, more like rocks. Razor-sharp and boiling-hot. Oh, they could knock a hole right in your head.”

 

Lance winces. “Sounds fun.”

 

Coran sighs. “Yeah.” He pats Lance on the back and starts heading to the door. “We should be getting back to the party.”

 

Lance nods and follows him out. As the door open, Rover glides in. As Pidge’s robot and something of a pet, he rarely strays from the Green Paladin’s side until Pidge is close-by.

 

“Hey, Rover.” He greets, not really sure how much the robot understands but not willing to risk its rage if it does. Lance is ready to leave with Coran, but something catches his eye. Rover typically has a green light glowing in his middle, but now it’s red. And as he travels up to the crystal, the red starts blinking.

 

Lance’s eyes widen when he realizes what’s about to happen. “Coran, look out!”

 

He dives forward, tackling the Altean as the room erupts with light and heat. His back feels too hot and his body aches, but then the world goes graciously dark and Lance is gone.

 

. . .

 

Keith wasn’t expecting to have a good time at the party.

 

And he was right, because he isn’t.

 

At first, it hadn’t been too bad. He’d hung around Hunk and Lance for a while, both of whom had seemed hesitant around him, which he understood. They’d had a little fun, though the air was tense, but after Lance departed after being reminded of his family, Keith had been too awkward around Hunk and retreated to leaning against a wall.

 

It was hard to keep track of everyone as the wove in and out of the crowd. Allura and Pidge had a short conversation that ended with Pidge storming off to Shiro, who was on edge as he watched outside for intruders. Coran had disappeared shortly after Lance left, probably following after the Blue Paladin.

 

So Keith is content to stew along the sidelines, counting down the minutes until the party will be over, but Pidge and Shiro reenter the castle, both wearing agitated expressions. Shiro catches his eye and beckons him over silently with a wave of his arm. Concerned that something’s happening, Keith pushes off from the wall and trails behind, noting that Hunk and Allura are doing the same thing.

 

They all come to a stop in a corridor, far enough away that they won’t be bothered by the excited Arusians but not far enough to drown out the sound. Pidge stands before them all, gaze focused on the ground and arms crossed. Shiro places a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she doesn’t look up.

 

“I’m leaving Voltron.”

 

Keith hears Hunk gasp at his side, he hears Shiro sigh and sees Allura drop her head. His gazes focuses in so he can only see Pidge and how she flexes her hands and still won’t look at them.

 

She finally looks up, her eyes like steel and mouth pulled in a thin line. “The download from the Galra ship was enough to at least get me in the right direction to start my search. I have a pod all ready to go.”

 

His mood already wasn’t great, but hearing this somehow makes it plummet faster than he can comprehend. He narrows his eyes and takes a couple steps forward. “You can't leave!”

 

She narrows her eyes at him. “You can't tell me what to do!”

 

“If you leave, we can't form Voltron.” Keith reasons, trying to hold himself back and keep from yelling. “And that means we can't defend the universe against Zarkon. You're not the only one with a family. All these Arusians have families. Everyone in the universe has families.”

 

“Yeah, I have a family.” Hunk adds. Keith turns to him, finding the Yellow Paladin looking meek yet a little hopeful. “They live on Earth. I want to be with them. Is that, like, a thing that can happen?”

 

Allura looks horrified. Keith feels the same. “You want to leave, too?”

 

“Of course I do.” Hunk answers. “Look, Voltron is super-cool, don't get me wrong, but I never signed up for a lifetime in space fighting aliens.”

 

Keith feels his eyebrow twitch in irritation. He gets it, as much as he can, but maybe it’s been too long since he had a real family to understand what the others feel. His blood family was gone before he was even a teenager and the closest thing he had to replace it had only just come back into his life, leaving them in an awkward dance of figuring how things are. But he’s so frustrated because he’d been thinking that maybe, just maybe, the team could become something resembling a family and here they are, splitting apart. First Shiro being distant since returning, then Hunk and Lance’s discomfort around him, and now Pidge wanting to leave all together.

 

It’s too much.

 

He takes a few more steps closer, arms gesturing wildly as he loses his temper. “You’re putting the lives of two people over the lives of everyone else in the entire galaxy-”

 

Shiro’s firm hand on his shoulder snaps him out of it. Pidge is standing before him, cowering in uncertainty with a slight fear in her eyes that makes Keith feel guilty. “Keith! That's not how a team works. People have to want to be a part of it. They can't be forced.”

 

Keith deflates, crossing his arms as he gives Pidge some space. Shiro looks down at Pidge with a sigh. “If you want to leave, we won't try to stop you. But, please, just think about what you're doing.”

 

Pidge stares at her feet, looking conflicted. For a moment, Keith thinks she might actually listen, but when she looks up she has a familiar fire in her eyes. Keith knows it all too well, he recognizes it from his own reflection when Shiro went missing. “I'm sorry. You're going to have to find someone else to pilot the Green Lion.”

 

She walks away, the satchel on her back not the only weight on her shoulders. They watch her go, no one moving to stop her. Keith rubs his thumb over his knuckles and breathes deeply, trying to remain calm and imagine where Pidge is coming from.

 

Allura sighs. Keith doubts this is what she expected when they first found her. “I can't believe it. This team is falling apart. How will we ever form Voltron?”

 

Keith still watches the corridor long after she’s gone. He can see Hunk fidgeting, longing for family in the same way but too worried to bring his concerns up again so soon.

 

He’s ready to return to the mediocre celebration when the Castle shakes with a gigantic rumble that nearly knocks him to the floor. The lights flicker and in the distance, he can hear the Arusians screaming and scrambling in panic.

 

Somehow, Hunk looks even more nervous. “What was that?”

 

“We need to find out.” Allura’s saddened concern from moments ago is replaced with her battle face.

 

The four of them sprint to the control room. Keith’s heart is pounding with adrenaline, geared for a fight that is sure to come. When they round the final corner, there’s smoke pouring into the hall through the open door. Keith can already smell it, the stench coating his lungs and filling his brain with memories of fire that he doesn’t have time for.

 

Upon entry, Coran is sprawled on the floor, covered in patches of soot. Allura gasps and rushes to his side, pulling him up once he coughs, thankfully awake.

 

“What happened?” Shiro asks, coming up to Coran’s side to look him over.

 

Coran pushes away from the Princess, wobbling a little but managing to stay on his feet. He clutches at his head. “Ugh, I’m not sure.”

 

The smoke is starting to settle. As it shifts around the ceiling, Keith can see that the crystal is severely damaged, cracked and crumbled with smaller pieces still falling and leaving the room darker than usual.

 

“The crystal!” Allura exclaims.

 

Something’s still not right. Keith feels like he’s missing something important. He does a mental head count. Pidge might be long gone by now. Shiro, Allura, Hunk, and Coran are all next to him. But that leaves…

 

“Lance!” Allura cries.

 

The smoke has shifted once more, leaving Lance’s body clear as day just under the crystal. He’s covered in ash and splotches of blood, the worst of which bright on his back. He looks too quiet, too still compared to how he was earlier. Keith’s heart stutters when he notices he can’t even tell if Lance is alive.

 

Shiro is the first to move. He rushes to Lance’s side, lifting the Blue Paladin from the floor to lean against his side. Lance doesn’t make a sound, his head lolling to the side. “Lance?” Shiro leans in close, listening to his chest. Keith feels like he himself can’t breathe. “He’s still alive.”

 

Footsteps approach from the hall and Keith’s hand hovers over his thigh, ready to summon his bayard at a moment’s notice. But it’s not an enemy, it’s just Pidge. She gasps for breath, her face growing pale when she sees Lance. “We have to get Lance to the infirmary!”

 

Allura shakes her head. Clasped under her chin, Keith can see a slight tremble in her hands. “Without the crystal, the Castle has no power.”

 

From his spot on the floor, Shiro looks grim. “He doesn’t look good.”

 

If he were awake, Keith knows Lance would loudly protest that statement. But he isn’t. He’s too still and Keith doesn’t know what he’ll do if the last thing he saw from him was his retreating back as he left the party.

 

He should have followed. He should have been here.

 

More footsteps come, this time belonging to the frantic Arusian King. “Lion warriors, our village is under attack! We need help!”

 

Keith looks away from Lance, unable to erase the image of him from his mind but needing a distraction. “Let’s get to the lions!”

 

“You can't.” Allura informs him. Keith’s ready to protest, but she continues. “They're sealed in their hangars. There's no way to get them out. We're defenseless.”

 

“Will you not help us?” The King sounds desperate.

 

He clenches his fists. “We’ll help you, but-”

 

From his spot by Shiro, Lance groans but does not wake. Keith’s eyes immediately snap to him, hoping for another sign that he’ll be okay.

 

Hunk has moved closer, standing over Lance protectively though he looks scared. “This is bad.”

 

“We have to get a new Crystal to get the Castle working again.” Coran informs them. “But, to get a new Crystal, we need a ship.”

 

Pidge snaps her finger. “The pod I was loading, we can use that! I left the bay door open." For the first time that night, Keith is grateful Pidge was planning on leaving.

 

“I can use the scanner in the pod to see if there's a Balmera nearby.” Coran adds. He nods in Hunk’s direction. “Hunk, you come with me. I'll need someone big to help me carry the crystal.”

 

Hunk’s gaze flickers between Lance and Coran. “A Balmera?”

 

Coran is already moving to the door. “It's where the Crystals come from. I'll tell you about it on the way!”

 

Pidge follows Coran, but Hunk lingers, clearly hesitant to leave Lance behind. Keith bites his lip.

 

“We’ll keep him safe.” Keith assures him, feeling as surprised as Hunk looks when he speaks. “Go get help.”

 

Hunk only hesitates a moment more before sprinting after the others.

 

“I’ll go see what’s happening at the Arusian village.” Keith announces, unable to sit and do nothing any longer.

 

“I’ll go with you, Keith.” Allura looks down at the King, determination in her eyes. “I brought this on the poor Arusians.”

 

Shiro nods at them. “I'll tend to Lance and stand watch over the Castle.” He makes eye contact with both of them. “Be safe.”

 

“You, too.” Keith calls back, heading out the door with Allura and the King at his heels.

 

They don’t stop the entire way to the village. No matter how hard he breathes, Keith doesn’t even consider pausing. There’s too much at stake.

 

He stands at the edge of a cliff overlooking the village, pushing through a crowd of mourning but alive Arusians with the King and Allura on either side of him. The village is completely engulfed in flames, some buildings already collapsed, and nothing left untouched.

 

The sight, the smell, the pounding of his heart is all too familiar. Deep in his mind, he can hear cries and the sounds of wood collapsing, but he tries to keep the memories from engulfing him. “The universe hates me.” He mutters.

 

“What’s happening?” Allura looks at him in confusion before scanning the village.

 

The King points into the rubble. “Look! Attackers!”

 

Keith can see the silhouettes of Galra soldiers in the flames and his blood pulses with its own fiery rage.

 

He puts the visor on his helmet down and prepares to use his jetpack. “"I'll go in for a closer look. Stay here with them.” Before he can lose his nerve, he leaps into the flames.

 

He can hear Allura call after him, but he pays no attention to her, instead focusing on using his jetpack to navigate through the fiery debris. He lands on the ground, thankful that his armor keeps him from feeling the heat.

 

Keith keeps out of sight of the sentries and summons his bayard, ready to attack. But rather than turning and noticing his presence, one of the sentries gets caught under a flaming piece of wood and crumbles, made of nothing more than some equivalent to cardboard.

 

“Oh no, they tricked us.” He mutters, eyes widening in realization as he activates him comms. “It was just a diversion to separate us and thin the Castle defenses!”

 

Allura takes a moment to process. “We must get back to the Castle, now!”

 

The two of them leave behind the Arusians, too worried for the well-being of the Castle and all its inhabitants. Keith imagines Shiro and Lance, practically defenseless and surrounded, and he runs faster.

 

Just as they cross the bridge, the particle barrier begins to fall, a dark purple that contrasts its usual blue. He pushes his legs to go faster, ignoring their burn and the panic creeping over him. The particle hits the ground just as they arrive, gasping for air and slumping against its surface.

 

“We’re too late!” He punches the barrier, thinking of how Lance got the Blue Lion to open up. Lance, who is somewhere in there, unconscious and close to death. “No!”

 

“They have control of the Castle!” Allura stares through the barrier in horror. If she thought the world was ripped out from under her earlier, Keith can’t imagine how she feels now. “They’re taking Voltron!”

 

Keith raises his bayard to strike. “Can we break through the barrier?”

 

Allura raises her hand to stop him and shakes her head. “No. And whoever has taken the Castle has a crystal, which means they'll be able to fly the ship. We have to stop them.”

 

“How are we going to do that?”

 

He’s trying to think of ways how when his comms crackle to life again, even though Allura is right beside him. “Keith, can you hear me?”

 

A shocked laugh forces its way out at the sound of Pidge’s voice. “Pidge! Is that you? Where are you?”

 

“I’m in the Castle.” She whispers. “Sendak has taken over and he's preparing for launch. He's got Lance and Shiro.”

 

Allura raises a hand to her ear, tapping in on their conversation. “Pidge, listen. If they've started the launch sequence, then we don't have much time before liftoff to stop it.”

 

“What do I have to do?” She sounds determined and Keith is grateful she’s still around.

 

“You have to get down to the main engine control panel and disconnect the primary turbine from the Central Energy Chamber.” Allura instructs her. “If you can do that, Sendak will have to reset the whole system. That might give us enough time to find a way to stop them.”

 

Keith has no idea what Allura just said, but Pidge must understand because she makes an affirmative noise. They can only wait as Pidge completes her task. Keith crosses his arms and taps his foot, full of too much energy he can’t fight out of his system. Allura appears composed as always, her early apprehension wiped away and replaced with calm. Keith admires her for that, her ability to bounce back no matter what life throws at her.

 

Pidge’s voice returns. “Okay, Allura, I'm near the turbine. I think it's started.”

 

“Then you’ll have to hurry. Cross the catwalk to the main column in the center.”

 

More silence then a quiet response. “Okay.”

 

“Now, open the hatch. Find the central computer control hub and enter the following sequence...”

 

Pidge is starting to sound panicked. “Wait, wait, wait! Which one is it? All the labels are in Altean!”

 

She starts to say something else, but her voice is cut off before she can finish and Keith frowns. Before them, the Castle has come to life in eerie purples with loud rumbles reminiscent of a rocket launch on Earth.

 

Allura’s face falls and Keith knows this might be it. “I've lost connection with Pidge! Oh, no! It's taking off!”

 

Unable to do anything, they can only stand there and observe as the Castle begins to rise. All of Keith’s hopes fall, and he can only hope that Pidge and Shiro and Lance are somehow alive.

 

But somehow, the ascent stops. Pidge succeeded.

 

Allura smiles as Pidge’s voice returns, and Keith’s own lips can’t help but twitch. “I think I did it.”

 

“Great work!” Allura praises. “Now, there's not much time before they get the ship running again. You must shut off the particle barrier so we can get in.”

 

“You got it. Tell me what to do”

 

Allura gives her directions to the generator room, but most of it goes over Keith’s head. He focuses hard on the barrier and listens to it hum, hoping it will be enough to distract him.

 

He should be in there right now. He should be helping Pidge and keeping his teammates safe, but he can’t. He feels so useless, just sitting around and waiting for someone else to do the work for him. At least Allura is incredibly knowledgeable about the Castle’s functions and can guide Pidge. If he’s not in a battle flying or fighting, he’s useless and he hates it.

 

The Princess asks for an update on Pidge’s progress and receives a confirmation. “I'm in, but this technology is so advanced, I don't know if I can figure it out.”

 

“Yes, you can.” Allura assures her. “The lives of your fellow paladins are at stake. You can't give up.”

 

Pidge sighs at that confidence boost. “Okay. Talk me through it, Allura.”

 

She nods in approval, even though Pidge can’t see her. “Shutting down the barrier from this room can be dangerous. Remember, the barrier is also a weapon. So, stay away from the energy arcs.”

 

“Don't touch the giant lightning bolts. Got it.”

 

Keith snorts.

 

Allura begins to explain the process, but a loud commotion on the other end interrupts her and Keith instinctively tenses. He can hear the sounds of laser guns and Pidge’s screams and he fears the worse. Allura looks to him with concern in her eyes and he knows she fears the same.

 

There’s some kind of easy connection that builds between two warriors who have seen a lot. Keith’s lost a lot and he can see that in Allura as well. He feels a moment of comradery between them as they wait to see if Pidge is still there, shoulders pressed is the lightest touch of solidarity.

 

It feels like an eternity that they wait there, static crackling in their ears and fear gripping their hearts. Keith feels sweat dripping down his neck, urging him to rip off his helmet and wipe it away, an instinct only stopped for fear of missing something.

 

Instead of a response over the comms, they get a better sign of Pidge’s life. The particle disappears, dissolving from the top down until the Castle is freed and so are they.

 

He and Allura share smiles. “It worked!”

 

Allura sighs in relief. “She did it!”

 

Not wasting a moment more, they sprint through the Castle. Keith tries to ignore the purple accents that have replaced the comforting blue. He prays they’re not too late, that everyone is still safe.

 

The bridge is an even darker purple. On top of Allura’s platform sits an ugly purple crystal attached with numerous wires and tubes that dangle from the ceiling. Shiro and Lance are propped up against the platform, both restrained and Lance still unconscious.

 

Sendak stands before them, holding Pidge threateningly before them. “Stand back!”

 

Keith’s eyes flicker around the room, bayard in hand as he tries to come up with a plan that won’t get Pidge caught in the crossfire.

 

Thankfully, he doesn’t have to think for long when a laser shoots Sendak in the back. He loosens his grip with a cry of pain and Pidge is free.

 

Keith follows the trajectory of the laser, eyes widening when he realizes it was Lance who fired the shot. He’s barely sitting up, hair askew and face smudged with blood and soot. He smirks, but his strength gives out and he falls back with a groan, his bayard dissipating. Keith’s chest swoops at the sight of him.

 

With Sendak’s attention drawn, Shiro rushes at him. But, with his arms still restrained behind his back, Sendak easily smacks him to the side. Keith uses Shiro’s distraction to move in and swipe at the commander with his sword. The strike is easily brushed off so Keith tries again, this time managing to knock Sendak off balance. Before he has time to congratulate himself, Sendak growls and reaches forward with his magic arm, pinning Keith to the ground with a strong enough force to make his ribs creak.

 

Pidge takes this opportunity to counter with her own bayard, swiping up and severing the connection between him and his arm. Sendak screams in rage. Now completely occupied with getting revenge on Pidge, Keith pushes the heavy arm from his body and Allura runs to her control panel, messing with a series of buttons faster than Keith can ever think.

 

The Green Paladin is holding her own against the Galra commander, focusing mostly on defense with her shield. Seeing an opening, she sends her bayard forward as some sort of grappling hook that wraps around his leg and electrocutes him. Keith swings his sword from above, aiming for his neck, but even while being electrocuted Sendak manages to catch his blade.

 

But that doesn’t matter. Allura catches his eye, tilting her head toward the center of the room and gesturing to her keyboard. It takes him a moment, but he gleans the general idea of her plan and nods.

 

“Keith, now!” She commands.

 

Keith immediately dismisses his bayard, silently relieved when Pidge does the same. Sendak is thrown off balance by the sudden movement and Keith pushes out with both of his legs, the force enough to send Sendak flailing on the central platform. Allura forms a particle barrier around him, effectively creating a prison.

 

Sendak pounds at the barrier, grunting and shouting but no matter how hard he hits, it won’t budge.

 

Keith smiles. They’ve won.

 

Allura slumps a little, wiping sweat from her brow with a smile of her own. “Nice work. We can transfer him somewhere more appropriate once Coran and Hunk return. That will hold him for now.”

 

His first instinct is to go to his brother and free him, but when he turns he sees that Pidge is already on the case, using her bayard to slice through his bonds. Instead, he approaches Lance. The Blue Paladin is still limp on the floor, but at least he’s sitting up.

 

“Lance,” Keith reaches for his hand and kneels on the floor next to him. Lance’s eyes flutter at the sound of his name and Keith’s heart nearly stops. “Are you okay?”

 

Lance blinks at him, eyes a little foggy as Keith pulls him forward. Then, he smirks right at Keith in a way he’s never done before. “We did it, we are a good team.”

 

Keith feels butterflies flutter in his gut at the statement. Despite being in pain and exhausted and bathed in the evil light of the Galra crystal, Lance somehow looks incredible. Keith can’t help but smile back.

 

Seemingly satisfied with his response, Lance slumps over with a grunt, only this time he falls sideways into Keith’s arms, their hands still clasped. Keith’s cheeks redden and his heart jumps. He looks around frantically, checking to see if anyone is watching. Allura is occupied with the control panel and Pidge is stretching with her eyes closed, but Shiro is staring right at him. He looks exhausted and a little worse for wear, but he must be feeling well enough to tease Keith with a raised brow and a smirk. Keith rolls his eyes at his gaze, but he knows his face reddens.

 

Desperate to get out of there without any embarrassment, Keith gathers Lance in his arms and rises, only stumbling at little bit while adjusting his weight. Lance is passed out again, so at least there’s one less person to witness his humiliation.

 

“Need any help?” Shiro calls out.

 

“Shut up,” Keith snaps. “I got him. I’ll wait in the infirmary for Hunk and Coran to come back.”

 

He leaves before anyone can tell him otherwise. He doesn’t let himself look down at Lance the entire walk, focusing on calming his heart all the way. Once there, he realizes that there’s no good place to lay Lance down so he sits on the floor and holds Lance in his lap.

 

Keith considers standing up to look for some bandages or medicine that might help in the meantime but as soon as he shifts, Lance makes and noise and moves his head so that it’s pressed against Keith’s chest plate. The position is reminiscent of any time an animal has fallen asleep on him and he feels trapped, caught between wanting to help and the fear of waking Lance.

 

Not sure he has another choice, Keith settles in for a while.

 

Eventually, Coran stumbles in, huffing out short breaths. “The crystal’s back, so the healing pods should be in working order!”

 

He makes Keith stand facing a corner while he changes Lance into some fancy suit required for the pods to work properly. A question that had been at the back of his mind all night jumps forward unexpectedly and he can’t bite his tongue fast enough to stop it. “Hey, Coran, when you were with Lance earlier, what did you talk about?”

 

“Not much.” Coran replies, the sound of rustling fabric muffling his voice. “He was just missing his family, so I thought I try to help him out. Turns out, he helped me more than I could!”

 

Not sure how to respond, Keith remains silent. Coran lets him turn back around once he’s done and there Lance is, looking peacefully asleep in a white suit in one of the pods. The others file in soon, hovering around the pod while Allura and Coran check over the readings.

 

“After a day in here, he should be fully healed.” Allura announces with a smile.

 

At Keith’s right, Hunk sighs. “Good.” He places a hand on Keith’s shoulder with a tentative smile. “Thanks for keeping him safe.”

 

If Keith looks as flustered as he feels, he’s screwed. “I didn’t really do much.”

 

Hunk waves a dismissive hand. “Nah, you did enough.”

 

Unsure of what to make of that, Keith walks over to where Shiro and Allura are talking to Pidge.

 

“Pidge, we can't thank you enough for all you did.” Shiro is saying. “I can't help but feel that you were meant to be a part of our team, but I understand if you want to leave.”

 

Pidge looks off to the side for a moment, before looking back up at Shiro with a faint smile. “Dad used to tell me how close he was with his crew members. They were like family. Now I understand what he was talking about. I'm staying with you guys. Let's stop Zarkon for all of our families.”

 

A weight that Keith hadn’t realized was there lifts from his shoulders at her words. “I’m sorry about how I reacted earlier. It’s good to have you back on the team.”

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Shiro beaming with pride. Pidge directs her smile up at Keith. “Thanks, it’s good to be back.” A frown mars her face. “I just wish I could have done more.”

 

Keith tilts his head in confusion. “What are you talking about? You did practically everything!”

 

“Yeah,” She sighs. “But Lance got hurt, and the village was burnt down, and Rover’s…gone.”

 

He faintly recalls the droid Pidge had reprogrammed on their first mission and the attachment she had for it. He guesses it’d feel something like losing a family member, which is something he’s very familiar with. “You know, when I was younger, I had a goldfish that died. I was real torn up about it, so Pop gave it a real funeral and everything. We could do something like that, if you want.”

 

Pidge stares at him for a moment. Then to his surprise, she wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face in his torso. “I’d like that.”

 

Keith hesitantly reciprocates the hug, knowing he’s done it right when Pidge smiles up at him. And he smiles back.

 

And it feels like progress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think!


	6. Taking Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On their way back to the Balmera, the team encounters a stranded crew in need of their help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! I can't believe it's been so long since I updated, which I'm so sorry for, but I'm finally here! I had fun writing this chapter, but I don't let myself update until I have at least another one prepared, and the next one's a doozy! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this!

Lance is floating in some abyss, strangely detached from his body.

 

He feels like his own shadow, connected at certain points but fluttering loose like a wind-blown flag in other places. He can hear voices, but they’re too muffled for him to make out any words. He can sense light shifting over his lidded eyes, but he’s too tired to open them. He must be awake, but he’s drowsy and confused enough to be dreaming. He has no clue where he is, but he’s cold and somewhere in the back of his mind he knows he’s safe.

 

A burst of adrenaline surges through his veins against his will, his eyes shooting open as a door hisses open. Lance stumbles forward, woozy and disoriented from sudden bright light and warm air. Somehow, his lifeless legs catch him and he sways back and forth as he blinks, trying to get a feel for his surroundings.

 

About ten feet away stands the rest of the team. They’re standing in the center of the pod room Allura and Coran had been found in, forming a loose circle. They’re focused on something Pidge and Coran are holding out, none of them realizing that Lance is here.

 

He slumps forward, rubbing his eyes as they finally begin to adjust. Lance peers over Hunk’s shoulder, who is so focused on the devices that he has his hand pressed to his chin and his engineering face on. Lance squints, guessing that the things in Pidge and Coran’s hands are counting time. “You guys having a clock party?”

 

Hunk drops his arm and groans. “Aw, Lance, you just ruined it.” He does a double take so fast that Lance gets whiplash. “Hey, Lance!”

 

He scoops him up in his arms, squeezing Lance into a hug so tight that he’s sure he’ll have broken bones. Hunk lets him go when he makes a squeak, adjusting Lance so he can lean against Hunk’s side with his arm slung over his shoulder, a gesture that Lance appreciates.

 

The others have realized that Lance is awake and look as joyous as Hunk. Lance relishes in their happy expressions, surprised to see that even Keith has a wide smile. They all look exhausted, smudges of darkness under their eyes that Lance frowns at. Now that he thinks of it, he has no clue why all of them look like this, or why he was in that pod in the first place. “What happened?”

 

“We can tell you all about it while you get something to eat. Are you able to walk?” Allura says, her brow furrowed.

 

Lance smirks. “Talking? Eating? Are you asking me out on a date?”

 

Allura throws her head back and groans, the same sound echoed among the rest of them, but Lance can see the tiny smile twitching at the corner of her lips.

 

“There he is.” Pidge announces, also wearing a smirk.

 

“Yup, he’s okay!” Shiro sighs, expression as relieved at it is unamused.

 

Surprisingly, Keith has crossed his arms and turned away, the wide smile from moments ago replaced with a deep frown. “Classic.”

 

“Let’s get you changed first,” Coran suggests, herding Hunk and Lance to the door with waving hands. “We’ll meet you both in the dining room. I’ll make a fresh bowl of goo just for you!”

 

Lance holds back a groan and forces out a smile. “Thanks, Coran, I look forward to it.”

 

The team waves him goodbye as they leave, Hunk not seeming to mind that Lance is still leaning heavily on him. No matter how many times Lance presses him for information during their walk, Hunk keeps his lips firmly shut. He promises he’ll get told everything that happened once they’re back with the others. Begrudgingly, Lance agrees and stops pestering his friend.

 

He peels off the strange white suit in his room, Hunk hovering respectfully outside his door to give him privacy while still being ready to sprint in and help at a moment’s notice. Lance feels much better by the time his normal clothes are back on, like a piece of himself and his energy was missing before. When he goes outside to meet up with Hunk, his legs no longer shake and his only issue is how loudly his stomach grumbles.

 

They’re just outside the dining room when Hunk pulls them both to a stop. He grabs Lance by the shoulders, his lip quivering and eyes watering as he stares at Lance’s face. “I was really worried about you, man. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

 

Lance is touched and he smiles up at his best friend, pulling him into a tight hug. “Aw, it’s gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of me, buddy! I’m glad that if I had to get stuck in space, it was with my best friend!”

 

Hunk sniffles against Lance’s neck. “Me too.” He pulls away, wiping his tear away with his sleeve before smiling at him. “Okay, ready?”

 

Lance groans, but he’s still grinning. “Hunk, you’re killing me here, I have to know what happened!”

 

When they enter, the rest of the team’s already there. Allura, Coran, and Shiro are standing around the head of the table, Coran gesturing wildly as he speaks with them. Keith and Pidge stand off to the side, Pidge watching Coran’s sporadic movements with a raised brow while Keith leans against the wall with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. As Lance enters, they welcome him back warmly. Even Keith gives him a small smile, something Lance thinks he might need to pinch himself in order to believe.

 

Hunk herds him to sit at the head of the table where a bowl of food goo waits for him. The mice are sitting there as well, chirping excitedly as he smiles to them in greeting and running up to get pets from his hand. Allura, Hunk, and Coran stand to his right. Shiro rests his hand on top of Lance’s chair, a supportive presence that Lance doesn’t even need to look at to feel protected by. Keith and Pidge push away from their position at the wall, Pidge leaning against the table on his left with a grin. Keith sits on the table itself, hands behind him to brace his torso.

 

As Lance eats, the others take turns telling him what happened. Coran starts by telling him how he got injured, transitioning to Allura talking about the distraction and Shiro about Sendak’s invasion. Pidge takes up most of the story, gesticulating excitedly while speaking about the various ways he prevented the Castle from destruction. Hunk and Coran talk about their trip to the Balmera, Lance wiggling his eyes up at his friend when he talks about Shay.

 

Allura finishes off the tale with their final battle in the control room, including Lance’s apparently well-timed awakening. She nods at him. “You'd be Sendak's prisoner right now, if not for Pidge.”

 

Pidge scratches the back of his head with a blush and inclines his head at Lance. “Well, you wouldn't have survived the explosion if Hunk and Coran hadn't gotten a new crystal.”

 

Having had his fill of food goo, Lance holds out his spoon for the mice to nibble on with a grateful smile. “Wow. Thanks, everybody.” He shoots a glare Keith’s way. “Sounds like the mice did more than you, though.”

 

Keith raises his arms, his content smile melting into frustration. “I punched Sendak!”

 

Lance scoffs. “Yeah, apparently after I emerged from a coma and shot his arm off.”

 

“We had a bonding moment.” Keith cries in outrage. “I cradled you in my arms!”

 

Lance has to work very hard not to laugh at the crack in Keith’s voice. “Nope. Don't remember, didn't happen.” Lance expects more anger, more shouting that’s so on brand for Keith, but none of that comes. Instead, Keith doesn’t fight back, his expression crushed as he crosses his arms and turns away. Not knowing what to do with this kind of reaction, Lance clears his throat and looks to Allura. “So, what happened to Sendak?”

 

Allura’s smile turns into a stressed frown. “He's frozen in a cryo-pod. We're keeping him here in the Castle.”

 

He’s not sure that’s a great idea. Just imagining trying to sleep with that guy somewhere still on board makes a shiver travel down Lance’s spine. “Are you sure that's a good idea?”

 

The Princess shakes her head and sighs. “He's too dangerous to be set free. Besides, we might be able to get some information about Zarkon from him.”

 

Lance stares down at his dish, appetite completely gone. One of the mice dives in, happily burying its face in the goo. “So, what's the plan now?”

 

Hunk speaks up now, voice firm. “We have to get back to the Balmera and save Shay and her people.”

 

With a small smile at Hunk’s devotion, Lance wiggles his eyebrows. “Wow, you’re really hung up on her.”

 

As predicted, Hunk blushes and looks away. “No, it's not like that.” He takes a deep breath and despite his reddened cheeks, Lance can see how determined Hunk is. “Look, guys, when you see how Zarkon has treated these people and destroyed their home-” He cuts himself off and shakes his head. “They've been under his thumb for so long, they don't even know what it is to be free. It's up to us to set this right. This is what being a Paladin of Voltron is all about. It's time to man up.”

 

Lance’s chest swells with pride. Both of them had been nervous to be so far away from their families, but maybe they’re coming to find their own purposes and motivations so that one day, they can return home victorious.

 

“Then let's get moving.” Shiro urges them, removing his hand from Lance’s chair. “Time to go defend the universe.”

 

Their impromptu meeting officially adjourned, everyone moves to leave. Lance rises from his seat and Keith slides off of the table. All of them are almost to the door except for Pidge, who stands with his hands nervously clutched while biting his lip.

 

“Wait.” Pidge calls, forcing the rest of the team to stop. Lance frowns and cocks his head, worried at how anxious the Green Paladin looks. “I have something to say first. I need to come clean and...” Pidge takes a deep breath, staring at the ground. “I'm afraid this may change the way you all think about me. Just so there are no secrets between us anymore, I can't ‘man up’...” Pidge looks up and meets their gazes one by one. “I'm a girl.”

 

Lance blinks, having not expected that but not wanting to look so surprised that Pidge will feel scared. His immediate instinct is protective and looks around at rest of the team, trying to gauge their reactions in case he needs to jump to Pidge’s rescue.

 

Thankfully, no one appears hostile. In fact, everyone has some degree of a smile on their face, so Lance lets himself relax.

 

Pidge blushes at all of the attention now on her. “I mean, I can ‘man up’ because that's just a figure of speech. I don't have to actually be a man to ‘man up.’ I just have to be tough. But what I'm saying-”

 

“You don’t need to explain.” Lance jumps in, hands in his pockets and an easy smile on his lips. “You’re you, be proud of that.”

 

“Thank you for sharing with everyone.” Allura says, a sheepish smile on her face. “The mice actually told me at the party, so I’m sorry I pushed you when you weren’t ready.”

 

“We’re proud of you.” Hunk adds.

 

Coran and Keith both nod along in agreement.

 

Shiro perhaps has the widest smile of them all. “Pidge, owning who you are is going to make you a better Paladin.”

 

Pidge looks at each of them, eyes wide with shock. Lance is afraid they might have said something wrong when Pidge’s eyes start to water, but she chuckles and smiles as she wipes them away. “Thanks, guys.”

 

Always a sympathetic crier, tears are starting to well in Hunk’s eyes and he sniffles. “Group hug?”

 

At Pidge’s nod, they rush forward and envelop her in a hug, letting her cry her happy tears. Lance ends up closest, with Pidge’s face smushed into his shirt and her fists gripping his jacket. It’s warm near the middle, but Lance is more than willing to bear the discomfort to let Pidge have this. Who knows how long she’s been holding this in, how relieved she must feel.

 

Once Pidge’s tears die down, the team withdraws and she wipes the last of it from her cheeks. Lance offers a sleeve, but she just laughs and shakes her head. “It's good to get that off my chest. Now, let's launch this Castleship!”

 

Her enthusiasm encourages their cheers and they begin to trail off to the control room for real this time. Lance hangs back with Pidge, tugging on her sleeve just as they leave the dining room to hold her back for a minute. She tilts her head in confusion, but she doesn’t protest as he nudges her to the side of the hall.

 

“You okay?” He asks.

 

She nods, still confused. “Yeah, it feels good to have that over with.”

 

“I’m sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable.” Lance says. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

 

Pidge blinks and waves her hands in front of her. “You have nothing to be sorry for! But, thanks.” She smiles and wrings her hands together. “You’re a good guy, Lance.”

 

He puts a hand to his heart. “Aw, Pidge, you do have a heart!”

 

She shoves him playfully. “Shut up!” She smiles as they jog to catch up with the others, and he notices it doesn’t disappear even when they take their seats in the bridge and prepare for takeoff.

 

Allura takes point to prepare the Castle for departure, calling out several items that Lance can’t place and waiting for Coran to confirm their preparedness before continuing. Soon, the Castle begins to rumble and Lance is glad they’re all buckled in securely. He has no idea how the Princess manages to stay balanced while standing at her podium, only her controls there for support.

 

“We are ready to depart Planet Arus on your mark, Princess.” Coran announces.

 

Lance looks over to see the smile on her face, only a little nostalgic at leaving the place that has been the Castle’s home for thousands of years. “Firing main engines for launch.”

 

The rumbling intensifies as the Castle finally rises. Lance watches as the planet’s surface grows further and further away until they’re in space and he’s staring at the stars, shining and hiding millions of planets just like this one. Somehow, that thought’s both freeing and terrifying at the same time.

 

Once the Castle is moving as fast as possible, though Lance is amazed that he feels no different at all, Allura dismisses them to get their armor so they’ll be prepared to land. While putting on his chest plate, Lance notices that all of the blood and soot that should be there are gone, the surface as shiny as they day he first got it. He wonders if Coran cleaned it for him or if this fancy Altean can clean the armor at the push of a button.

 

Reunited of the bridge, the paladins lounge around on the floor. Lance can feel the nervous energy in the air keeping them from sitting in their suits.

 

Out of all of them, though, Hunk is the most restless. He paces back and forth at the top of the stairs, hands wringing together as he worries. Lance sits on the step below him, close enough to be supportive but not enough to get trampled.

 

“Okay. So, when we get there, what do you think?” He muses out loud. “Do we just roll up and like, start blasting? Or do we land and have some... kind of public address system, like,” He lowers his voice and scowls to fit the part. “'Attention, Galras. This is Voltron. Turn yourselves in!'”

 

He stops pacing, looking up at the rest of them for guidance. “No blasting, right?”

 

Keith, who’s leaning against the wall, lifts his hands up and down in some attempt at a soothing gesture. “Hunk, calm down. And yes, blasting.”

 

At his side, Shiro looks to Keith, expression amused. “Eh, it's our first big rescue mission. He's excited.”

 

Pidge, who sits on a step lower than Lance, flips her head back and grins. “Excited to see his new girlfriend!” She teases in a singsong voice.

 

Hunk’s face immediately goes red and he gasps. “She's not my girlfriend! She's just a rock that I met and I admire very much.”

 

Alarms start to blare with accompanying red lights, the noise only slightly less jarring than the alarms Allura likes waking them up with.

 

Shiro straightens, brow furrowing. “What is it? Are we being attacked?”

 

“No.” Allura assures him, frowning at the screen. “It seems to be a distress beacon. It's coming from a nearby moon. Apparently, a ship has lost power.”

 

“I wonder who it is.” Pidge says.

 

Hunk shakes his head. “Whoever it is will have to wait. Shay has first priority. We can check back on them when we're done.”

 

Lance stares at the flashing screen, an idea forming at the back of his mind. “That’s cool, it’s like we’re on space patrol! Coran, do we have a siren we can turn on?”

 

“Unfortunately, no,” Coran informs him. “But we could record you making a siren noise and broadcast that to them.”

 

Lance grins. “Perfect!” He opens his mouth and cups his hands around it, taking a deep breath to make the loudest sound possible.

 

Or, he would have, if Shiro didn’t move forward with incredible speed to put his hand over Lance’s mouth. “Nope, we’re not doing that.”

 

“Ah man,” Lance pouts, taking his hands away from his mouth. “C’mon, have a little fun! We could have a nice siren so people know when we’re on our way!”

 

“I think if anyone hears your voice, they’re more likely to run away.” Keith jumps in, a smirk on his face.

 

Lance clenches his fists and narrows his eyes at the Red Paladin. “Oh yeah? Well it’s not like your voice would do anything better!”

 

“Great comeback,” Keith snorts. Though Lance is used to their routine bickering, Keith seems colder this time around. He wonders what he did to provoke Keith this time, or if he even did anything at all. “I’m sure a siren would benefit from your wit.”

 

“Oh ho!” Lance exclaims with an eye roll. “Kitty’s got claws!”

 

Keith’s eyebrows scrunch together. “What does that even mean?”

 

“I don’t know!” Lance had been having an okay day, but Keith’s got him all frustrated again and he hates it. “You tell me!”

 

“Please, stop!” Allura finally shouts. She’s gritting her teeth and looking like she wishes she left them on Arus. “We must be a unified team and all of this nonsense isn’t helping!” When the two of them remain silent, she sighs and rubs her temples. “Now, we’re landing on the moon. We shouldn’t need the lions.”

 

“But still stay alert,” Hunk pipes up. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

 

Lance sends a final glare in Keith’s direction, blood boiling when he gets the same in return. Shiro is whispering in Keith’s ear, something that Lance can’t make out at this distance. All the same, it makes jealousy and frustration thrum in his veins. Shiro always jumps to Keith’s aid, Lance just wants his idol to care about his well-being for once.

 

Allura clears her throat and presses a button. “Attention, damaged craft, this is Princess Allura. We are coming to assist you.” Her voice sounds amplified, meaning it must project outside. She turns to Coran. “Stay aboard and try to get as many of our systems clear of that Galra crystal energy as you can. We'll see who hailed us.”

 

Coran nods. “Yes, Princess.”

 

On the moon’s surface awaits two aliens and a short robot standing beside their ship. They’re surrounded by various cargo, some junk and boxes they must have brought out of the ship once it crashed. Allura leads the way to the stranded aliens, looking regal in her armor but still wearing a welcoming smile.

 

One of the aliens steps forward with a relieved smile. His skin is purple and his white hair sticks out from underneath a cap and goggles. He wears a vest and baggy pants, leaving his chest bare except for what seems to be bandages wrapped around his torso. “You don't know how glad we are to see some friendly faces. Most folks don't want to get tangled up with anyone who's on the run from the Galra.”

 

He gestures at a makeshift campsite made from boxes and has them get comfortable. None of them take a seat, only the alien and his companion does. Allura and Shiro stand directly across from them, Keith leaning against a taller piece of cargo and Hunk hovering off to the side, his expression pulled into a frown. He knows his friend is worried about getting to Shay in time, but Lance wishes he wouldn’t be so rude around the people they need to rescue.

 

“So, you guys are fighting the Galra?” Keith asks.

 

The alien shoots him a grin. “Well, I don't think Zarkon is exactly quaking in his boots at the three of us, but we do what we can. I'm Rolo. This is Nyma, and our cyberunit, Beezer.” He gestures at his companion and robot respectively.

 

Nyma lifts a hand and waves. “Hi.”

 

Lance can’t help but stare. She’s very beautiful, with bright yellow skin and wide eyes and a teal outfit that Lance thinks compliments her skin perfectly.

 

If Lance is enthralled by Nyma, Pidge is in just as much awe of Beezer. She creeps forward, eyes glistening in fascination. “Cool robot!” She admires the cyberunit from all angles.

 

Lance takes the opportunity to move forward to Nyma, taking her hand like the gentleman he is and bowing forward. “Hey, the name’s Lance.”

 

She giggles at his introduction, the sweet sound making his cheeks flush. He hears unanimous groans from the rest of the team, but he ignores them. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Keith scowl and huff out a breath, but he’s frustrated that he can’t ignore that as easily. What’s that guys deal? Lance is just recovering from a near-death experience, sue him if he wants to live a little.

 

Shiro clears his throat, trying to get them back on track. “So, was your ship damaged in a fight?”

 

Rolo nods. “Yeah, we've really been through it with the Galra. Parts are hard to come by. Luckily, we were able to limp to this moon about a week ago. If you didn't pick up our distress signal, I didn-”

 

Allura interrupts, eager to help out anyone and everyone. “We're happy to help. I am Princess Allura of Altea, and from now on, you won't be alone fighting the Galra. You'll have the Paladins of Voltron by your side.”

 

Though Lance is busy trying to flatter Nyma with whispered compliments, he can feel as Rolo’s gaze sweeps over the team. He must see the contradiction between Keith, Shiro, and Hunk standing there seriously and him and Pidge focused on other ventures with more enthusiasm.

 

“Okay…” Rolo says slowly, not sounding entirely convinced.

 

“I don’t think they’ve heard of us.” Shiro tells Allura, expression less confident and more unsure now.

 

“It has been ten thousand years.” Keith points out, ever the realist.

 

On any other day, Lance would call him out for being a smartass, but Lance forces himself not to care at the moment, instead using the opportunity to brag a little to Nyma. “Voltron? Five robot Lions that combine into this bigger robot guy?”

 

Nyma smiles at his explanation, but it’s Rolo who replies. “Sounds impressive. I'd love to see it. Or him.” He tilts his head to the side in thought. “Them.”

 

Hunk is quick to veto that idea though, stepping forward and nodding his head at their ship. “Why don't we just get to work on your ship? I'm sure we all have places to be.”

 

Rolo shrugs, looking unbothered. “Sure.” He leads Hunk over to the side of the cargo ship, opening a side compartment and pointing out some parts. “Pretty much our whole flaxum assembly is shot. I don't know what kind of extra parts you carry in this rig of yours. I've never seen anything quite like it.”

 

The group adjusts their placement to try and see what Hunk and Rolo are looking at. Shiro ends up at Lance’s side while he’s still preoccupied with Nyma. He’s long since let go of her hand, instead working on sending her charming smiles and finger guns that make her giggle. He sees the flick of Keith’s mullet as he looks away again, not caring about it, but caring when Shiro nudges his side sharply with a pointed glare.

 

Lance frowns back. He’s not doing any harm, if anything he’s keeping morale up. Why can’t the others just leave him be to have his fun?

 

“I'm sure we can get you back up and running.” Allura assures Rolo. “Give Hunk a list of what you need.” She turns to address Hunk. “Coran can show you where to find it.”

 

Hunk nods at the order. “Okay.”

 

“We'll go with you.” Rolo suggests, waving his hand at Nyma and Beezer. “Don't want you to have to carry all that yourself. Come on, guys.”

 

The others try moving forward to help, Rolo at the lead, but Hunk steps into their path with his arms crossed and his frown somehow deeper. “Uh, I don't think so. You can just wait out here.”

 

Allura narrows her eyes at the Yellow Paladin. “Hunk, don't be rude.”

 

Afraid that they all might start arguing and ruin what feels to be a good first mission, Lance raises his hands placatingly. “Yeah, mind your manners. There are ladies present.” He cocks his hip and winks at Nyma. “Hey.”

 

Nyma giggles again at his attention. Shiro sighs heavily, but he doesn’t elbow Lance this time. He takes that as a sign of reluctant approval and grins.

 

Hunk shakes his head, not so willing to move on. “Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, but does anyone remember the last time we let our defenses down? Someone kind of set off a bomb. Remember, Lance? You were almost killed.”

 

He recalls how upset Hunk was when he woke up from the pod and winces. He feels a little bad, especially since Hunk is so stressed about so much right now. “Yeah…”

 

Shiro walks to Hunk’s side to offer his support. “Hunk's right. Sorry, but we have to be cautious.”

 

Rolo smiles good naturedly. “Hey, I don't take it personally. That's how it is out here. You've got to look out for your own. You're doing a good job, big man.”

 

Relieved that an argument isn’t going to break out, Lance’s shoulders slump. Still, Hunk remains wary. This time, Lance refrains from judging him harshly.

 

Beezer scoots over to Rolo’s side, Pidge following closely behind. It beeps and prints out a sheet of paper, the Green Paladin leaning in close to get a look at it. Rolo tears the paper off and hands it to Hunk. “Those should be all the parts we need.”

 

Hunk looks it over quickly and nods. “Thanks, man.” He heads back to the Castle to get Coran’s help. Lance almost comes with to help, but as he approaches he can hear Hunk muttering under his breath and decides to give his friend some time to cool off.

 

While Hunk goes off to gather the parts, the others sit down with Rolo. Lance moves to join them, but Nyma grabs his shoulder and drags him in the other direction, closer to the Castle. As she pulls him away, Lance glances back at the team to make sure they’re okay he’s leaving. He’s sure that Shiro and Allura in particular are eager to talk with Rolo, to see if he has information that could help them.

 

No one’s looking his way, no one except for Keith who meets his eyes. They stare at each other for a long second, Lance unable to look away from Keith’s dark stare. Then, Keith frowns and quickly looks the other way like he never saw Lance in the first place. Though Keith can no longer see him, Lance glares at the back of his head.

 

Nyma has him climb on top of a taller set of boxes, pulling him close to her side as they gaze at the sky. Through the atmosphere, Lance can see so many unfamiliar stars, but his heart only aches a little.

 

Afraid of getting stuck feeling homesick, Lance tells Nyma about the team. He tells her about the five lions, about forming Voltron, even about their training regime. He tells her about anything and everything to keep his mind preoccupied so he can’t hear his own loneliness or hear his teammates speaking with Rolo and Hunk grumbling and clanging parts as he gets to work. All he needs right now is someone to focus on, some easy companionship he doesn’t has to think too much about all the crazy things going on.

 

He’s leaned back on his hands, Nyma mirroring his pose. “I mean, there are only five of us in the entire universe, so, I guess you could say it's kind of a big deal.”

 

Nyma raises a hand to her chin and stares at the sky as she thinks. “I don't understand. The Lions are ships? Are they, like, flying statues that you ride on?”

 

Lance shakes his head. “No, no, no. They're magic, but also super scientific and advanced. And they fly crazy fast and have all these incredible weapons. Really, the entire Castle is just insane! I wish you could see it.”

 

She sighs and leans back. “Yes, it's too bad we're not allowed inside. I would love a tour from one of the knights.” He blushes upon being called a knight. “But I guess the big one is in charge, huh? You have to obey his orders?”

 

He tries to imagine who she’s talking about, his head conjuring an image of Hunk. Though he doesn’t want to make his friend more stressed than he already is, as long as Lance sticks with Nyma, he’s sure there’s nothing to worry about. “Who, Hunk? Pfft, what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him!”

 

He slides down from the boxes, holding out a hand to help Nyma do the same. Lance looks back at the others to make sure no one sees them sneak into the Castle. The team surrounds Hunk and Rolo as they repair the ship. Keith leans against the side of the ship, smirking at Rolo as he works. For some reason, seeing Keith like that pisses off Lance and motivates him even more the lead Nyma into the ship and through the halls, acting as her excited tour guide as they go.

 

Lance peaks around the door to the bridge when they arrived, sagging in relief when Coran isn’t at his station, probably off looking for more parts. He takes her hand and leads her to the center, smiling when she stares in awe.

 

“This place is incredible!” Nyma exclaims.

 

Lance scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess. You get used to it.”

 

“But it's so gigantic. It must take you forever to get to your Lion.”

 

He’s already taking her by the arm to his zipline, directing her to hold on tight to his waist and blushing as she nuzzles her head into his side. They land in his small vehicle, Lance practically swooning in her lap all the way up to the cockpit.

 

“Pretty slick, right?” He prompts. He feels a slight rumble in his chest from Blue, a strange mix of amusement and disapproval he tries to ignore.

 

Her eyes flit around, taking in every detail. “Unbelievable!” She leans in close. “Take me on a ride around the moon?”

 

Lance bites his lip, thinking about Hunk’s frustration and Keith’s numerous glares. “Uh, we should probably get back to the others.”

 

“Yeah, you're right.” She sighs. “Maybe Keith will give me a ride.”

 

The mention of the Red Paladin spurs him into action. Keith’s taken a lot from him, he will not take away his good day as well. Lance reaches over to his dashboard, pushing buttons with his hands and feet to get Blue to take off. “No! Whoa, whoa, hold on a second! I mean what's the point of having the Lion if you can't enjoy it, right? Giddy-up, Blue!”

 

Though reluctant, the Blue Lion takes off into the sky. Though they’re far away from the Castle in a manner of seconds, the disapproval he feels from Hunk has no limited distance.

 

They adjust so Lance can pilot better, Nyma standing to lean against his chair while he sits up. He does fancy spins and turns to try and impress her, relishing in her laughter and following her directions.

 

She points down at the surface of the moon. “Look, a kinetic spring! Let's land over there. The minerals reflect off the water, making a rainbow.”

 

He comes in low, letting Blue glide over the water and staring in awe at the beautiful colors that trail behind them. He’s sure if Pidge or Hunk were there they’d have a long explanation for why it happens. “Wow, is there anything you don’t know?”

 

He sets the Blue Lion down at the edge of the spring next to a lone tree. They exit the lion, gazing out at the water. Lance leans against the tree and sizes it up, tossing his helmet to the side and shaking his limbs back and forth in preparation. “So, ah, you want to see how fast I can climb this tree?”

 

Nyma giggles and holds out her hand. “Aw, you are cute. Let me show you something. Give me your hand.”

 

Lance reaches out, but rather than hold it like he expected, she slaps something on wrist that wraps around the tree to attach to his other arm. He stares at the restraint in disbelief, surprised and not entirely sure how to react. “Whoa! Uh, this is kind of...”

 

Before he can finish his thought, Nyma and Rolo’s ship glides in overhead, looking perfectly fine. Lance narrows his eyes, gasping when a bottom hanger opens and sucks the Blue Lion inside. “Nyma, what’s going on?”

 

A rope lowers and Nyma grabs onto it, wrapping her foot around the bottom so she doesn’t slide off as it pulls back up. “Sorry, Lance, maybe we’ll meet again.”

 

He watches her go, eyes watering in frustration and betrayal as the ship speeds away, taking his lion with it. This is just typical, just when he’s having a good day and having fun and not worrying about all his problems, something has to come along and smack him in the face. He can hear it now, Hunk glaring down as he says, “I told you so.”

 

But first, he needs the team’s help to get his lion back. He just needs to contact them and let them know what happened. He looks around the ground, trying to remember where he put his helmet. It finally catches his eye, lying several feet away and he groans. “Oh, quiznak.”

 

Lance doesn’t know how much time he spends trying to reach it. He tries wrenching the cuffs apart, but the restraint is made of ridiculously strong material that won’t budge. He ends up lying down, stretching his legs out as far as they can go in an attempt to kick his helmet closer. By some miracle, Lance feels it and catches the visor underneath his toes, lifting his leg to fling the helmet his way. It lands next to his head.

 

“Guys?” He calls, praying that he activated his comms as well. “Hello? Little help?”

 

After one awful moment of silence, his comms crackle and Shiro’s voice sounds. “Lance? Lance! Are you alright? What's going on?”

 

Lance looks to the side, flushing in embarrassment though no one can see him. He feels so stupid, even now that he has to say everything out loud. “Well, I'm kind of chained to a... tree."

 

Predictably, Hunk chimes in. “I knew it!”

 

“And I think Nyma and Rolo just stole the Blue Lion.”

 

Somehow, Hunk shouts louder. “I _knew_ it!”

 

“Where are they now?” Shiro probes.

 

Lance winces. “Uh, space.”

 

“Uh, I never trusted those guys, right from the beginning!” Hunk elaborates. Lance is sure they’re all heading to their lions, but Hunk plows onward. “I mean, y'know, at first, it was just like a  _feeling_  in my gut, you know? But when I was replacing that thermal pipe, the pipe was cracked, but none of the hardware around it was damaged.”

 

“Okay,” Keith’s voice jumps in, sounding extremely exasperated. “We get it.”

 

“"I mean, if the thermal pipe is cracked, then, obviously, hello, the entire assembly should be totally roasted.”

 

“Okay!” Keith sounds even more irritated. “We get it!”

 

“We should've had to replace the entire undercarriage of that reactor. So, right then, I was, like, positive. Foul play.”

 

Lance joins Keith, as well as the others, to shout once more, “Okay, we get it!”

 

Lance feels useless as he listens to the others track Nyma and Rolo down. They encounter some kind of asteroid field, Shiro insisting only Keith will be able to navigate it. He looks to the sky, trying to imagine the chase going down. He can clearly see the Red Lion in his mind as he imagines it weaving carefully through the rogue asteroids, catching up with the ship and somehow disabling it while Keith smirks. He hears the teams cheers as Rolo and Nyma surrender, and he somehow feels worse when Shiro congratulates Keith.

 

“Hey, Lance,” Keith says through the comms. He sounds like he’s still riding the high of his success, voice softer than usual. “I got your lion back.”

 

Lance smiles at his helmet. “Thank you, Keith. Now, can you come and unchain me?”

 

“What's that?” Keith continues, bringing a frown to Lance’s face. “I, uh... You're cutting out. I can't hear you!”

 

“Oh, come on!” Lance groans. He’s fully prepared to beg. “I thought we bonded.” Maybe it’s too soon to bring up something Keith was so incensed about earlier today, but Lance is getting desperate. “Keith? Buddy? My man?”

 

Keith doesn’t respond and Lance prays that it’s because he’s focused on flying back, not because he’s resigned to leave Lance behind. Thankfully, mere minutes after cutting off, Lance spots the Red Lion entering the moon’s atmosphere, its smaller form somehow managing to carry the larger Blue Lion and set it down gently before landing as well.

 

The Red Paladins walks down the ramp, his face surprisingly blank considering the banter they just had. Lance watches as Keith approaches, inspecting the handcuffs keeping Lance around the tree. The red bayard forms in his hand, extending into a sword and Keith raises it over his head.

 

Maybe this is it, Keith has finally decided he’s going to behead Lance so he closes his eyes, hearing the sword swish through the air though the blow never comes. When he opens his eyes, the cord wrapped around the tree is cleanly cut in half and the cuffs around his wrists have been sliced open as well. There’s not a mark on him, but Lance still rubs his arms as he grabs his helmet and stands.

 

He gives Keith a weak smile. “Thanks, man, I owe you one.”

 

Keith nods. “It’s no problem, but I’m holding you to that.”

 

Lance groans, already regretting his words. He stares at his hands, waiting for the chewing out he’s sure to come. It’s not like Keith to miss out on an opportunity to tell Lance all the ways he messed up, but the longer he remains silent the more suspicious Lance becomes. “Well, aren’t you going to say it?”

 

When Lance looks back up, Keith looks genuinely confused. “Say what?”

 

“Tell me how badly I messed up,” Lance elaborates, glaring at him. “Tell me how stupid it was of me and I could have ruined everything.”

 

“I’m sure Hunk will tell you all that,” Keith points out, making Lance groan at the thought of his best friend’s reprimand. “You don’t need to hear it again from me. I actually do have something else I want to say, though.” Keith looks sheepish, dragging his foot in the dirt. “Are you okay?”

 

Lance blinks. Then blinks again. And again, because he’s still not sure he heard him correctly. “Okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Keith’s cheeks are red and he’s avoiding looking at Lance’s face. Lance never thought he’d see the day Keith looked so meek, yet here he is. “Did she hurt you or anything?”

 

“No, I’m fine.” He manages to choke out. “In perfectly good health, nothing stops me.”

 

Keith raises an eyebrow. “I’m sure.” He sighs in frustration and Lance is captivated by how awkward Keith appears. “But seriously, Coran told me what you talked about the other night, that you were homesick, and I wanted to make sure you’re doing okay?” He ends on a question, looking up at Lance with a wince like he realizes how out of place this all sounds.

 

Lance still can’t believe he’s hearing this. Angry Keith, frustrated Keith, and annoyed Keith are all the facets of Keith he’s used to seeing. Sympathetic Keith definitely isn’t on that list, and he never thought it would be. The fact that he’s seeing this side of him right now makes his heart warm.

 

But the two of them, they aren’t exactly friends, they’re barely even teammates. The thought of Keith going to Coran and asking after him is hard to imagine as anything but malicious. The thought of Keith knowing his weaknesses is terrifying. It wasn’t so long ago when Keith represented everything he ever wanted and couldn’t have, and that’s not so easy for Lance to move on.

 

So, maybe Lance should accept this olive branch and move on because Keith is genuinely trying and that’s something Lance can appreciate. And while every part of his being screams at him to thank him, to say something nice back and move on, Lance feels a familiar jealousy bubble up inside.

 

“Why’s it matter to you, mullet?” Lance snaps.

 

Clearly not expecting this reaction, Keith steps back and frowns. “Because we’re teammates?”

 

“That’s never stopped you before.” Lance sneers, even as his brain yells at him to stop. He feels bad at the way Keith’s friendly stance dissolves, but not bad enough to stop. “Just leave me alone, I don’t want your help.”

 

Keith scowls. “Fine, why do I even bother?” He turns on his heel and stalks back to his lion. Not once does he look back.

 

Lance watches the Red Lion fly away before heading off in his own lion. He feels a little regret, a little sadness at potentially burning a bridge, and he even considers chasing after Keith to make amends before it’s too late.

 

But he doesn’t. He doesn’t rejoin the others to see Rolo and Nyma off, he just lands back in his hanger and heads back to his room.

 

Once the others board and they take off, Allura’s voice announces through the speakers that it will be a few hours before they reach the Balmera, so they should get some rest while they can. Lance removes his armor in pieces that get thrown across the room, a choice he’s sure he’ll regret later.

 

Hunk stops by on the way to his own room. He only chastises Lance a little bit before giving up and sweeping him into a hug, proclaiming how glad he is that he’s okay. He stays to talk a little longer, Lance letting him rant about all the annoying little things Rolo did before noticing how tired Lance is and leaving him to sleep.

 

Exhausted from his stay in cryopod and the emotional events of the day, Lance’s barely has time to pull his mask over his eyes before he’s asleep.

 

. . .

 

_There’s a purple hue cast over everything in sight. Pieces of white armor, the dark floor, all of it coming from some sort of strange crystal._

_There’s a warm hand in his, tight and warm and supportive and he feels he could lean into it forever if he wanted to._

_Wide violet eyes stare at him, framed by dark hair and above a pair of familiar lips that Lance has seen move a million times before. But they rarely smile at all, and never as soft and kind as this._

_He feels his own mouth open, encouraged by the kind lips and intense eyes and he says—_

 

Lance jolts awake, alarms blaring around him as he sits upright, feeling a cold sweat drying on his skin and making him shiver.

 

Those eyes, those lips, those _words_ even. Lance can barely breathe.

 

He leans back against the wall, ignoring the sirens for a moment even though he knows he should be changing. He can’t move, he can hardly think.

 

“Oh, shit.” He mutters to his empty room. Thankfully, no one is there to respond.

 

He remembers Keith and he remembers being held by him.

 

His head thumps against the wall as he groans in frustration. What a mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh, Lance remembers the bonding moment! What will happen?!?!
> 
> Also, I wrote Rolo as "Polo" so many times and Coran as "Corn", and I lost it every time.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, please let me know what you think!


	7. Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins must hurry to save the Balmera and its people, but outside forces make the job more difficult than it seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, this chapter is looooooong! It's almost 13000 words, so buckle up! I hope you have fun reading!

Keith isn’t angry, he’s furious.

 

Rather than taking the last few hours they have free to rest like the others are surely doing, Keith is beating his frustrations out on a few training bots. He might regret it soon when it leaves him with sore muscles for the mission, but he can’t bring himself to stop.

 

With a roar, he rushes at the current gladiator, dropping low to swipe its legs out from under it and rising to plunge his sword into its chest. It dissolves and the computer announces he successfully completed the program. He takes a short break before starting the next one, heading to the side of the room to get a drink of water.

 

An impressed whistle sounds from the doorway and Keith pauses with the water pack halfway to his mouth, rolling his eyes and continuing when he sees it’s just Shiro.

 

His brother approaches, wearing his casual clothes and coming to a stop at the wall beside him. “Nice work, but should you really be working so hard right before we leave?”

 

“How much time?” Keith asks, wiping away some stray water from his mouth.

 

“Should be any minute now.” Shiro informs him. “You really planning on training up until the last moment?”

 

Keith lifts his arms above his head and leans from side to side as he stretches. He feels his spine crack, chuckling at the face Shiro makes. “What else am I gonna do?”

 

Shiro shrugs. “I don’t know, those breathing exercises I taught you? You still remember those, right?” When Keith pointedly looks at everything except him, he sighs. “Nap? You seem a little worked up, maybe figure that out.”

 

Keith crumples up the empty water pack and tosses it to the side. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

“Really?” Shiro raises an eyebrow, a teasing smirk on his face though Keith knows there’s genuine concern buried beneath. “That’s funny. I swear that you went to get Lance but when you guys got back, he went off and you were in a bad mood. Any correlation?”

 

He leans against the wall and slides to the floor, legs pulled close to his chest and arms resting on his knees. “He hates me, Shiro.”

 

Shiro slides down to sit next to him with his legs crossed. “I’m sure he doesn’t hate you.”

 

“You didn’t see his face.” Keith runs a hand down his face. He can still see it so clearly, how quickly Lance’s face had dropped into a scowl. How he’d sneered while he shouted. Keith wishes he knew what he kept doing wrong. “He hates me.”

 

“Lance has had a rough couple of days, I’m sure he didn’t mean whatever he said.” Shiro pats his shoulder. “I didn’t realize you two were close.”

 

“We aren’t.” Keith snaps. He sighs and picks at the top of his boot. “It’s complicated. I thought we were getting better, but I guess I was wrong…”

 

He doesn’t know why this is bothering him so much. Maybe it’s because he’s never had a group of people like this before, and he can’t bare the thought of one of them hating him. Maybe it’s because he truly thought they had bonded, that they’d finally had a breakthrough only for Lance to forget and leave them back at square one. Maybe it’s because Lance makes his chest feel funny and his face flush and it enrages him as much as it confuses him, and the only way to figure it out is to investigate more or push away entirely. He’s starting to think the latter might be the best option.

 

Shiro squeezes his shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

 

Before Keith can respond, the alarms begin to blare and the two of them scramble to their feet. “Guess that’s our cue.”

 

They jog to the control room, finding Allura, Coran, and Hunk already there. Pidge and Lance enter soon after. Keith looks away sharply when Lance’s gaze finds his, unwilling to deal with him at the moment.

 

Allura cuts the alarms off, but Keith’s ears still ring. “You really love tormenting us with that, don’t you?”

 

“Yeah,” Pidge agrees, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Couldn’t you just announce when you need us over the intercoms?”

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Allura says innocently, but Keith can see a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips. Her face becomes serious when she turns to face them, though. “We'll be arriving at the Balmera very soon. Liberating these Balmerans from Zarkon's grasp will not be easy.”

 

“So, what's the plan?” Lance has yet again found his way to Keith’s side, his hand resting on his hip. Judging by the laid back expression, Keith wonders if he even remembers their argument from earlier. “We go in and just—pow, pow, pow—” He stretches out his arms with each sound he makes. ”And free the prisoners?”

 

Keith raises an eyebrow. “What was that noise?”

 

Lance’s smug grin doesn’t falter. “Laser guns.”

 

“No, Lance,” Hunk shakes his head. Keith is momentarily glad that someone agrees Lance is being ridiculous, but Hunk continues. “I think you mean—” Hunk makes some inhuman sound with his mouth, some sort of strange wheeze that pushes out his cheeks as he extends and lowers his arms.

 

“That sounds like fireworks.” Lance scoffs. Keith wants to know what fireworks he’s been hearing that sound remotely like that.

 

Pidge pushes the rim of her glasses back up her nose and cracks her knuckles. “Technically, they're more like—ba-choo, ba-choo, ba-choo!” She forms a gun shape with her clasped hands and recoils from it with each imitation.

 

Shiro sighs. “Okay, enough with the bad sound effects.” But then he gets a familiar look, a look Keith has only seen when Shiro is about to do something he finds incredibly funny though Keith will find it embarrassing. “Besides, it's more like— blam, blam, blam!” He goes so far as to kneel down on the floor as he goes through the motions of shooting a blaster.

 

Keith slaps his forehead with his palm, wishing this were a convenient time to pretend he doesn’t know Shiro. Thankfully, the other Paladins seem just as enraged at Shiro’s ridiculous impression, and they join Keith in his groans and shouts of protest.

 

“Paladins, focus.” Allura calls, looking back at them in disbelief. Keith can only imagine the ideas forming in her head about humans.

 

Hunk slides his hand down his face, looking incredibly stressed. Keith thinks this might be the most anxious he’s ever seen him, which is a feat considering how often Hunk has been worried in one way or another since they arrived in space. But there’s a fire in Hunk’s eyes as well, one that tells Keith there’s no way he’s going to turn back now. Keith admires that about Hunk. The longer they’ve been in space, the more motivated he seems to overcome his fears. “Besides, we can't just shoot at the Galra. This Balmera, it's, like, alive. And from what we've seen, it doesn't look very good.”

 

That has to be a new one, a living planet, but Keith supposes that this kind of strange is quickly becoming his new normal.

 

Coran rubs his mustache and nods in agreement, his expression grave. “Yes, it's an atrocity what the Galra have been doing to this grand beast. Stealing its Crystals, its very life force, without ever performing the energy rejuvenation ceremonies to heal it.”

 

“After seeing Shay's people enslaved, it made me realize how bad Zarkon really is.” He looks to all of them, his eyes like steel. “And we're the only ones who can stop him.”

 

“Okay, so we can't go into the tunnels guns blazing.” Shiro concedes. He crosses his arms as he thinks. “Plan B. We figure out how to draw the Galra up to the surface and battle them out there.”

 

Hunk snaps his fingers. “Wait, I know! If we attack all of the big mining stuff on the surface, the Galra troops will have to come out to defend it. Then we beat them up, head down to the tunnels, Voltron saves the day.”

 

Shiro nods, but he’s still frowning. “But how will we know how many are left down in the tunnels?”

 

Allura proposes a solution. “We can track the Galra and the Balmerans using Biothermal Life Indicator Point Technology.” She pulls up a hologram of the device, showing a small drone with short legs and an oval-shaped body.

 

“Oh!” Pidge shouts in realization. “It’s BLIP tech!”

 

The Princess just stares, clearly not understanding what Pidge said. Pidge blinks and tilts her head, gesturing to the hologram. “It’s an acronym.” Keith suspects the Altean language doesn’t have anything similar.

 

Allura shakes her head and attempts to regain her composure, but Keith can tell that she’s still confused. “One of you will need to fly around the Balmera and drop sensors into the shafts on each side.” She manipulates another hologram that demonstrates the plan. Keith has no idea how she can come up with them so quickly. “Then we'll be able to see where the Galra and the Balmerans are. There are already sensors built into your suits.”

 

“I can do it.” Pidge says, pushing up her glasses with a grin. “I just modified the Green Lion with the invisible maze's cloaking ability. I should be able to fly around unnoticed.”

 

She somehow manages to look sheepish at her admission though the rest of them are clearly impressed. Shiro has on his proud smile that Keith has seen a few times in his life and both Coran and Allura look at her with respect.

 

Coran adjusts a few things at his control panel and brings up an image of the Balmera’s surface. He zooms in on a few structures that are easily recognizable as belonging to the Galra, one of them much larger than the rest. “That's their main power generator. If you take that down, it will severely weaken their defenses.”

 

“We'll stay in cloud cover and give tactical support.” Allura looks unsettled, likely concerned that the Castle can’t come closer to the ground. Keith knows that feeling of helplessness well, even experienced it with her when they were trapped while Sendak invaded the Castle, but Allura is nothing but determined and a strong leader so he knows she’ll still be a great help. “With the Castle's defenses weakened from Sendak's Crystal, we won't be of much help to you.”

 

“I'll take out the power generator.” Shiro decides. He nods at the remaining Paladins. “Keith, Lance, Hunk, you take out these big mining rigs around the area.”

 

Keith nods at the order, already itching to get in his lion. Off to the side, Lance appears excited as he looks around the room at the others, though Keith pointedly avoids his gaze. They may have a mission to complete, but he’s not so eager to be all friendly with Lance.

 

Hunk claps his hands together. “Yeah! Okay, let's do this! Let's go kick some alien butt!” His enthusiasm is tangible and it motivates the others to move to their stations.

 

Allura wishes them luck once more as they head off to their lions and Shiro tells them to stay safe, his gaze lingering on Keith in a way that he thinks is a little uncalled for.

 

Keith passes by Lance on the way to his lion. The Blue Paladin puts a hand on his shoulder, making Keith pause but he refuses to look up. He doesn’t want to be angry or upset, especially right before going into battle, but Lance’s strange behavior certainly isn’t helping him remain calm. “What do you want, Lance?”

 

Lance doesn’t reply, so Keith looks up. He’s chewing on his lip, looking like he has a lemon stuck in his mouth. Finally, Lance swallows. “Good luck out there.”

 

Keith shrugs off his head, not caring that it makes Lance’s face drop. Lance doesn’t get to be the one to make amends, not when he threw out Keith’s attempts to be friendly like it was trash. Keith is trying, he thought they were finally getting to a place where they might even be tentative friends and Lance just throws it back in his face. So sue him if he’s bitter. “I don’t need your luck.”

 

He storms off before he can see Lance’s reaction, but that doesn’t stop him from imagining the Blue Paladin’s disappointment all the way to the Red Lion’s cockpit.

 

Thankfully, the tension between him and Lance doesn’t spread to the others as the team departs. Keith is glad for that. Given the opportunity to let something go or let it fester inside him until he dies, he would always choose the latter. But he can’t do that now, they have a mission to accomplish and as much as he wants to, Keith can’t let his frustrations affect their ability to work together. So, he resigns himself to forgetting for the moment with the promise brooding later.

 

They approach the planets surface in their lions. Though the hologram Allura used to represent their plan in action did a fairly good job at portraying the planet’s decimated surface, nothing compares to what it looks like in person. What Keith is sure was once a vibrant and lively planet is now dull and covered in countless Galra structures that pierce into the Balmera and look painful. He’s angry just looking at it, imagining all the terrible things this planet and its people have suffered. Keith can understand why Hunk was so eager to return.

 

Red rumbles with her own rage in the back of his mind. Keith wonders if his lion ever saw a Balmera before, if seeing one like this is even more painful once you’ve seen it thriving. Keith can sympathize with that, he knows what it’s like to have contentment and life only for it all to be ripped away. Considering the rush of warmth Red sends his way, so can she.

 

“This is it.” Shiro’s voice snaps Keith back to reality. “Get your heads in the game. Remember, the Balmera is a living creature. Make sure you pinpoint only the Galra installations and not its surface.”

 

“Initiating cloak.” Pidge announces. The Green Lion pulls away from the team before shimmering and vanishing into the horizon.

 

Shiro veers off, heading towards the enormous power generator that is painfully bolted down to the surface of the Balmera. Keith, Lance, and Hunk spread out and begin their own assault on the numerous Galra mining rigs piercing the planet. He can see Hunk and Lance taking down multiple rigs, all resulting in minimal amounts of debris so as to not harm the Balmera.

 

The thrill of finally seeing another battle is prominent through Keith’s connection with Red. He feels the hum of energy as they work as one, the way restlessness slides away to be replaced with satisfaction. Each time he flies with his lion, the more Keith understands how similar they are. Unable to sit still of be held down, especially when there’s something they’re aching to do.

 

Standing proud amidst the numerous mining rigs is a structure much taller than the rest that Keith approaches with caution. As he prepares to shoot it down, the structure fires on him with a powerful laser he barely manages to dodge. He and the Red Lion retaliate, though a mischievous spark at the back of his mind is the only warning he gets before realizing what they fire back with isn’t the common laser he’s been using. Red unleashes a stream of fire that disables the tower and melts a hole through the center, dripping with molten metal.

 

Keith lets out a surprised laugh. “Whoa! Did you guys just see that? I got fire power!”

 

“Hey, I want that!” Lance protests.

 

Thanks to its melted core, the tower begins to careen towards the Balmera’s surface and Keith curses his poor judgement. “Oh no!”

 

“Hey, we can't let this thing hurt the Balmera!” Hunk reminds him. He flies in below the falling structure, but Keith can see the Yellow Lion steadily descending from the weight.

 

Frantic to fix this, Keith focuses on his lion, but she seems just as lost as her paladin.

 

“I think my lion knows what to do!” Lance exclaims, flying in next to Keith to get a look at the situation. Keith doesn’t care that he’s mad at the Blue Paladin, if he can fix this he’ll do whatever he wants.

 

The Blue Lion fires on the tower but instead of the inferno Red unleashed, she releases a stream of white that solidifies into strong ice crystals that crawl around the break. Hunk flies out of the way as the ice settles and the tower no longer falls. Keith lets out a sigh of relief, mentally thanking Lance but not daring to do so out loud.

 

“Aw, snap! These rays are super cool, just like me!” Lance cheers. Keith rolls his eyes.

 

Shiro comes in to hover nearby, the wreckage of his target still smoldering in the distance. “Great work, team.”

 

Pidge rejoins them, her own task complete, and the lions huddle near each other, waiting for the Galra forces to arrive. Keith’s grip on his controls tighten in anticipation, but nothing is coming.

 

Keith frowns. He has a bad feeling about this. “Where are all the troops? They're not coming to the surface.”

 

Hunk’s face appears on his screen, looking equally unsettled at the lack of Galra response. “Yeah, I remember seeing a lot of Galra guys down in the mines.”

 

Allura’s face replaces Hunk’s, wearing a concerned expression he’s sure is mirrored on the rest of the Paladins. “We've located a hangar full of Galra fighters just below the surface. Someone has to take those out before they can launch.”

 

“They're luring us down, but we have no choice.” Shiro says begrudgingly. “Keith, Lance, you guys hit the hangar. Hunk, head to the prison to rescue Shay and the other Balmerans. Pidge and I will track down the Galra soldiers.”

 

Though he’s not excited to be stuck with Lance, he has no other choice and voices his assent when the others do the same. The Blue Lion leads the way to the bottom of one of the mine shafts, where Lance and Keith both exit in their speeders. Allura provided each of them with the map Pidge’s BLIP tech formed, so it’s fairly easy to navigate the dark tunnels that lead to the hangar.

 

They get out just before a rocky outcropping overlooking the hangar. Keith follows Lance out of his speeder, kneeling at his side as they look at what they’re dealing with a consider their options. There must be at least a hundred Galra fighters laying dormant with a small control room resting beneath the open hangar doors. Despite the numerous ships, Keith only spies a handful of sentries wandering about the ground.

 

“The entire hangar's only being guarded by a few sentries.” He notes. Following his first instinct, Keith summons his bayard and prepares to rush forward. If they can take out the minimal sentries and disable the ships, then they can get their mission completed in a fairly reasonable amount of time. “Let’s go.”

 

A yank on his collar keeps him from running off, and his bayard vanishes in surprise. Lance looks at him in disappointment, holding onto the collar of his armor like a lion scolding her cub. Keith shoves him off. “Don’t touch me!”

 

Lance raises his hands and backs off. “Whoa! Cool your jets, Keith! Don't you remember all that stuff about this Balmera thing being a sensitive animal?”

 

Keith frowns. Maybe destroying the sentries would have been fine but over a hundred ships? That would probably be less than comfortable. He feels sheepish for once again almost hurting the planet. “Oh. Right.”

 

The Blue Paladin rolls his eyes. “Yeah, so we can't just blow things up like a psycho.”

 

Keith crosses his arms. He knows they should be working together, especially since this is a time sensitive task, but he can’t help but be frustrated and petty. When did Lance get so responsible when he can’t even accept Keith’s olive branch without throwing a fit. “You got a better idea?”

 

“I do.” Lance says matter-of-factly. He gestures to a catwalk nearby that leads straight to the control room. “We sneak into the control room to shut down the bay doors. That'll trap the ships in.”

 

“That—” Keith was so ready to shoot him down but after processing the plan, he resigns himself to acknowledging it. “Actually... is a better idea.”

 

Lance grins and starts climbing down to the catwalk and after a moment’s hesitation, Keith follows, keeping low as they cross over the hangar. They manage to sneak in through openings on the roof that lead down into dark and winding vents that Keith tries to keep his bearings in. Lance pushes ahead, crawling at a surprisingly fast pace though Keith knows there’s no way he can navigate this place better than he can. Keith passes over a few slatted panels through which he can see the faint purple glow of Galra technology.

 

He tugs at Lance’s ankle, causing the other Paladin to halt and look his way with a frown on his face. “It’s here.”

 

“No, it’s over here.” Lance hisses back, gesturing a few feet away.

 

Keith ignores him and summons his bayard, the blade growing uncomfortably large in such a small space. “I know what I’m doing.” He stabs into the stretch of vent between him and Lance, pulling his blade around in a smooth circle despite cutting into metal.

 

Without prompting, Lance adjusts and jumps onto the circle he’s cut out of the vent. Keith watches as Lance lands directly on top of a sentry, knocking it to the ground where it remains still. Lance moves out of the way and Keith follows him down, dangling from the ceiling with one hand to make sure there are no other sentries before dismissing his bayard and landing on the floor. He finds it strange that there’s only one guard controlling the hangar filled with Galra fighters, but Keith tries to shake off the bad feeling making him tense. If Lance’s plan works, then he has nothing to worry about.

 

Lance cracks his fingers and walks over to a flashing monitor, keeping low to the floor as he moves. “Keep an eye out for those guards. I'll see if I can find a way to shut the hangar doors.”

 

Though Keith doesn’t really want to listen to Lance, he’s rather they complete their job before they start fighting again, so he nods and crouches by one of the wide windows. He peeks at the hangar floor, keeping an eye out for any sentries getting too close or any extra Galra forces. So far, nothing, but Keith doesn’t let himself get comfortable.

 

He can hear the beeps and frustrated grunts as Lance messes with the Galra control panel. The Blue Paladin mutters to himself as he works and though Keith doesn’t dare look his way, the sounds of his unsuccessful attempts light a bitter smugness inside of Keith.

 

Eventually, Lance lets out a long groan and the random beeps stop. “Ah, I don't know what I'm doing here. It's all Galra gibberish.”

 

Keith snorts quietly and mutters under his breath. “Typical.” He means to keep his sour attitude quiet, but of course Lance hears him.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

He tries to play dumb. “What?” Keith finally looks back to find Lance scowling at him.

 

Lance actually laughs, a short and hollow one that only makes Keith feel a little guilty. “Don’t ‘what’ me, you know what I’m talking about. What did you mean?” Keith bites his tongue and keeps his mouth shut but Lance won’t drop the subject, instead scoffing at his silence. “Fine, don’t tell me, see if I care, it’s not like you do.”

 

Keith rolls his eyes. “Please, it’s not like you’d even care that I care if I did.”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Lance shrieks, quickly retreating in on himself when he realizes where they are. They both pause for a moment, Keith’s hand twitching by his thigh in anticipation, but no soldiers come bursting in so they focus back on each other. “I care more than you ever could! I’d care so much if you cared, which you don’t, so I don’t!”

 

He’s lost track of their conversation, but Keith pushes onward. Images of Lance’s sneer as he turns him away flash through his mind and he knows it’s now or never. “Then why didn’t you? Why didn’t you care yesterday?” He shocks the anger right off Lance’s face, his expression falling slack in surprise. “I was trying to be nice, I thought we were finally getting along, but you just didn’t care, did you? None of it meant anything!”

 

Keith wants to pretend that he’s not upset by Lance’s cold rejection, that it doesn’t affect him in any way, but that wouldn’t be true. For a few moments, Keith had thought that they could finally start fresh and become even tentative friends, but Lance had thrown it all back in his face like it was nothing. And that’s not something Keith can forget.

 

To his surprise, Lance doesn’t fight back. He doesn’t yell or scrunch up his face in anger or even cross his arms. In fact, he actually looks…sheepish. Head hanging low, one hand scratching the back of his neck, somehow managing to look meek in his position on the floor.

 

“Keith,” Lance begins, looking him in the eyes with arms slightly outstretched. “I did care, I just…” His mouth opens and closes a few times, searching for the right words. “It was hard.”

 

He hopes his expression is as unimpressed as he feels. “It was hard.”

 

“Yes,” Lance sticks to his guns, though he looks like he just swallowed something bitter. “It was hard.”

 

“Thank you for your sincere words,” Keith says dryly. “I can’t even remember why I was mad. Can you please hurry up with that thing?” He turns back to the window, focusing on the ships and trying not to notice his reflection flushed with rage.

 

“Wait, Keith!” Lance calls as loudly as he can without giving away their position. “It’s just hard-”

 

“So you’ve said.” Keith reminds him, still staring out the window.

 

“I’m sorry!” Lance blurts out, the sudden apology enough to make Keith look his way. “I’m sorry, okay? I was just surprised and I’ve always been jealous of you, but it was still wrong of me and I hope you can forgive me.”

 

Considering how much dancing around those words Lance did, Keith wasn’t expecting to hear them. But here he is, on the floor of a Galra control room in the middle of a mission, staring into Lance’s wide, apologetic eyes as his anger starts to fade away like it was never there. How can Keith stay mad when Lance seems so sincere.

 

“I’m sorry, too.” Keith adds, figuring that they should air everything out while they’re at it. “I know you care, I’ve just been frustrated.”

 

Lance waves a dismissive hand. “All is forgiven, it actually feels kinda nice to be on good terms with you.”

 

Keith rolls his eyes again, but this time it’s more fond than he’d ever care to admit. “Shut up. You’re jealous of me?”

 

Lance sighs, leaning his head back like he regrets saying so. “I mean, you’ve always been better than me at everything and Iverson was always using that, and you didn’t even remember me when we rescued Shiro.”

 

Keith blinks. He doesn’t know what he was expecting when he asked, but it certainly wasn’t all of that. “First of all, Iverson’s a dick, so everything he says should be taken with a grain of salt.” Lance snorts at that, making Keith smile inside. “And I’m not better than you at everything, you’re a hard worker. You brought us to the Blue Lion, no one else could have done that.”

 

“I guess so.” Lance doesn’t appear to believe everything he says, but Keith will let that slide. He doesn’t expect them to be best friends thanks to one conversation, but it’s better than nothing.

 

“And I kind of remembered you, I’m just awful with names and faces.” Keith admits, avoiding Lance’s gaze as he stares his way. Keith shakes his head. “But seriously, you don’t need to be jealous of me, the only friends I ever had at the Garrison were instructors.”

 

Lance laughs, a bright sound that cuts through the quiet of the control room and Keith’s chest. “Thanks, Keith.” He grins, probably the most genuine smile he’s ever directed Keith’s way, and he gestures to the panel that had been stumping them before their blowout. “Want to try and help me with this?”

 

“Sure, scoot over.” Keith crawls along the floor while Lance makes room, resting in a crouch before the tall panel. He can see why Lance was having so much trouble with it as the entire system is in Galran, foreign symbols blinking changing before Keith can even try to comprehend them. He wishes their suits could somehow translate everything, but apparently 10,000-year-old Altean tech wasn’t quite there yet.

 

There’s only one thing Keith recognizes, an outline in the shape of a hand in the center of the right screen. With no other leads, Keith places his hand there. A loud clanging sounds from outside the control room and for one horrifying second, he thinks he’s accidentally activated the entire fleet of fighters and doomed a entire planet, but then he sees the bay doors closing just like Lance planned.

 

“Whoa!” Lance cries, grinning at the closing doors before tilting his head at Keith. “How did you do that?”

 

“I just put my hand on the hand print.” Keith explains, picking up his palm to observe it. He can feel Lance’s eyes on him as he does so, but they don’t really have time to discuss the nuances and flaws of Galra tech so he rises, Lance following suit.

 

Allura’s voice crackles to life just as the hangar doors finish closing. “Paladins, are you there? The Galra troops are moving down the tunnels. It looks like they're going down toward the center.”

 

“They must be headed to the core of the Balmera.” Hunk suggests. “That's where they're holding Shay.”

 

“They're drawing us into an ambush, but we don't have a choice if we want to save Shay. We have to follow.” Shiro adds. “Lance, Keith, get to the core. I think we're going to need everyone together to get through this firefight.”

 

“Copy that. We're on our way.” Lance responds.

 

Keith summons his bayard and slices through the control panel, making it impossible for anyone to stop by and undo their work. The two of them sprint down a corridor off to the side that leads into deeper tunnels, Lance pausing momentarily to shoot the controls to the door they exit through. With all their bases covered, they rush forward towards the center of the Balmera.

 

Maybe it was just Keith trying to stay positive, a little hyped up after making amends with Lance, but he was hoping they wouldn’t encounter any more trouble on their way to the Balmera’s core. Of course, the universe loves spiting him and as they turn a corner, Galra sentries are waiting, firing upon them relentlessly as soon as they arrive. Keith lunges to the side, hiding behind a wall of rock to avoid getting shot. He curses himself for not grabbing Lance to hide with him, but to his relief he sees Lance taking cover behind a similar formation at the other side of the hall.

 

Though the two of them are currently safe, remaining so comes with a sacrifice. The laserfire hits the walls of the cavern, cutting into the Balmera and showering rocks from the ceiling that Keith holds his hand up to protect his head from. Deep animal-like cries echo throughout the caverns, punctuated with showers of rocks and small earthquakes.

 

“Their shooting is destroying the Balmera.” Keith shouts his realization across the corridor at Lance, who cowers with his hands over his head much like Keith. “We gotta do something!”

 

“Well, we can't shoot back!” Lance yells. “It'll just make it worse.”

 

Lance looks at their surroundings with a creased brow, clearly deep in thought. Suddenly, he snaps his fingers and sits up straight. He directs a complicated series of gestures at Keith, pointing everywhere and nowhere all at once, then looking expectantly at Keith once he’s finished, as if any of it was decipherable.

 

“Huh?” Keith stares at him blankly, resigning himself to finding his own solution to their problem. He looks around the cave like Lance did, searching for anything helpful, and his eyes fall on a rope ladder behind him that leads to a rugged trail close to the ceiling.

 

Keith grins and points at the ladder with his thumb, wasting no time as he climbs up to the path. As he crawls along the path, he hears Lance shouting gibberish at the sentries to get their attention and Keith grins to himself, happy that the Blue Paladin picked up on his side of the plan without even being asked. Maybe exhausted, injured Lance was right, they do make a great team.

 

While Lance distracts the sentries, Keith leaps and lands behind them, brandishing his bayard to cut the robots in half. When only one remains, Keith throws his blade at its chest, watching in satisfaction as the last of the sentries collapses to the ground. Lance grins at him from the far end of the corridor and gives him a thumbs up. Keith doesn’t even try to hide the pleased smile that rises to his face. After retrieving his bayard from the sentry’s chest, they dash down the corridor, eager to meet up with the others.

 

As they run, Keith silently prays that they’re not too late. He usually considers himself that doesn’t worry about things too much, he’s always relied heavily on his instincts and spur of the moment decisions, not so much on careful planning. But now, his brother is in danger, his team is in danger, hell, an entire planet and civilization is in danger. Even considering how often he doesn’t think things through, there’s a lot resting on this mission going smoothly.

 

Almost as if he’s reading Keith’s thoughts, Lance elbows his side, creating a brief bridge between the two paladins even as they refuse to slow down. Keith is starting to wonder if Lance really does have telepathic abilities, or at least a sixth sense that tells him what people are thinking. “Stay focused, Mullet, you don’t want me getting more sentries than you, do you?”

 

Like magic, Keith immediately forgets what he was worried about and focuses on Lance’s teasing words with a scowl. “I’m plenty focused, it’s you who I’m worried about. And it’s not a mullet!”

 

Lance rolls his eyes playfully. “Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

 

Keith is tempted to shoot back with his own witty retort, but the idea slips away at the long corridor they’ve been running along opens up into a gigantic chamber. Down a slope, he can see the others gathered at the center before a gigantic mushroom-shaped structure that stretches to the ceiling. It’s glowing orange, dotted with red and blue and almost humming with energy. Hunk is helping out someone Keith doesn’t recognize by cutting the binding around their wrists and carefully untying a gag. This much be the infamous Shay.

 

As soon as they enter the cavern, a door slams down, blocking off their exit along with the multiple other tunnels leading to the core that Keith can see dotted around the edges. With no other place to go, he and Lance run down the slope and meet the others.

 

Though he looks stressed, Shiro gives Keith a nod when they arrive. Even without words, Keith can tell that his older brother loses some of the tension in his shoulders at the sight of him. His tired eyes tell a familiar story that Keith has seen too many times, saying that even though the situation sucks, at least they’re together. He can understand that sentiment.

 

“Where are the Galra?” Shiro is saying as Keith and Lance come to a stop. “If this is an ambush, they should be here waiting for us.”

 

“Not an ambush.” Hunk scowls at the doors blocking them from leaving. “More like a trap.”

 

“Whatever it is, keep your guard up.” Keith adds.

 

“The Galra, they gained knowledge that you would return to the Balmera.” Shay says. She looks to the ground, eyes regretful though Keith is sure she has nothing to do with it if all Hunk has said about her is true.

 

“How?” Pidge asks.

 

Shay shakes her head. “I know not. But they set this trap just for you. I was the bait.”

 

Shiro frowns at the revelation. “Who could have possibly known that we were heading here to save Shay?”

 

Hunk snaps his fingers. “Rolo! Those liars must have told Zarkon.” If the situation wasn’t so dire, Keith is certain that Hunk would reiterate all his reservations about that pilot.

 

Sensing the same rant coming on that Keith expects, Shiro pushes the conversation forward. “We have to figure out how to get out of here.”

 

“Wait!” Lance exclaims, drawing all attention to him. “We have a giant Castleship hovering in the sky. Allura, can you please come get us?”

 

Keith rolls his eyes at Lance for what must be the millionth time that day. “How do you expect her to do that, genius?”

 

“I don't know, maybe they got teleporters or something!” Lance elaborates, crossing his arms at Keith’s irritated demeanor.

 

“Can you help, Allura?” Shiro asks through his comms.

 

“We're quite occupied at the moment. We're completely surrounded by Galra ships and we're taking heavy fire!” She responds, sounding strained.

 

“Princess, our particle barrier won't last much longer!” Keith can hear Coran shout in the distance.

 

“Paladins, you need to get out of there as soon as you can!” Allura cries, her words confirming their certain doom.

 

Lance looks defeated after hearing her words and Keith feels a little bad for him. “This is it! We're going to die in here.”

 

The rest of the team doesn’t look much better and Keith is starting to wonder if there  _is_ a way out of this.

 

Shiro doesn’t accept their gloomy resignation, though. “"Get it together, guys. Allura, we'll get there as soon as we can.”

 

Shay, though, isn’t as dejected as the others. She approaches the glowing core and places her flat palms against it. “Perhaps my people can help us get out.” And she closes her eyes. “This is how we communicate. The Balmera senses our vibrations and sends a message to those in the tunnels.”

 

Keith eyes her hands. He’s not exactly the expert on alien space magic, so sue him for being skeptical. “Are you sure someone will be able to hear your... hand from all the way down here?”

 

She nods. “The Balmera  _will_  deliver the message.”

 

The area around her hands begins to glow and a loud humming echoes throughout the cavern. And Keith believes her.

 

. . .

 

For their first real mission after flying away from Arus, Lance thinks they’re doing a pretty decent job. They’ve destroyed a bunch of Galra mines already with minimal damage to the Balmera and though they’re currently trapped with no way out in sight, Shay seems to have that handled with her serene focus. He’s even somehow managed to clear the air with Keith, and having a fresh start with the Red Paladin feels better than he thought it ever would.

 

All things considered, things are going okay.

 

And of course, that’s when things tend to go poorly.

 

“Paladins, the Lions are in danger! You must get back to them immediately!” Allura warns them and before any of them can respond, she adds on. “Paladins, do you copy? There's a battle cruiser locked onto us. If it fires with its ion cannon, I don't know if we can survive.”

 

With the others currently focused on Shay as she holds the core of the Balmera, Lance takes it upon himself to update the Princess. “We're trying, Allura. Shay’s pressing her hand against the wall, which apparently sends vibrations to the other rock people, who vibrate back or something? Hand talking? I guess the answer to your question is, yes, we copy.”

 

“Shay,” Shiro is clearly trying to give the Balmeran space as she does her thing, but he looks tense as he holds himself back. “Are you sure the Balmera is sending your message?”

 

She furrows her brow in concentration at Shiro’s words, but it appears they have nothing to worry about. One of the blockades crumbles, opening up an exit and revealing a small group of Balmerans. Shay turns around and smiles. “Rax!”

 

“We must make haste.” Rax announces, but the team is already making their way up to the opening. “We know a shortcut through the tunnels.”

 

“Allura, stand by. We're on our way up.” Shiro alerts her.

 

With the Balmerans acting as their guides, getting back to their lions is almost laughably easy. Shiro splits off first, then Hunk, then Pidge, and then it’s just Keith and Lance left as the Balmerans lead them back.

 

One announces their proximity to the Red Lion and Keith nods, preparing to sprint off at the next junction. He doesn’t leave silently, he grins back at Lance as he leaves. “See you up there!” Lance waves in his direction, but Keith has already vanished.

 

At the Blue Lion, Lance thanks their guides and manages to get back to his lion just before Galra forces pull her away. Once again united, Lance can feel her satisfaction at being able to fly again. He feels at home as she comes to life, her dashboard lighting up and viewing screen unfolding as they take off to find the others.

 

“Guys, did everyone make it to the lions in time?” Shiro’s voice comes over the comms. Lance spots the Black Lion in the sky and speeds up the fly at its side, feels relieved as he watches the rest of the lions do the same.

 

Lance scoffs, feeling reinvigorated after their successful escape. “Come on, Shiro. Who you think you're dealing with, a bunch of amateurs-”

 

Caught up in his surge of cockiness, he doesn’t see as the other lions fly off. He only notices when he clips one of the few remaining Galra mining rigs and goes spiraling for a few terrifying moments, screaming in fear included. Once he regains his bearings, he flushes in embarrassment.

 

Though he sounds smug, Shiro gives him a chance to take back his earlier statement. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

 

“No.” Lance sighs.

 

Thankfully, the Black Paladin doesn’t push him any further and the snickers of his fellow paladins fade away as they return to the mission at hand. “Let’s go!”

 

There’s a large Galra fleet waiting for them, some of the ships focusing their barrage on the castle while a majority rushes at the lions. The team splits up and starts taking out the fighters. Lance alternates between shooting with his ice beam and normal laser, freezing the ships as they approach and then vaporizing them so they can’t hurt the Balmera. He can see his fellow paladins employing similar techniques as they get to work. Keith appears to be using his newly discovered firepower to melt ships into nothing.

 

A groups seems to have gathered around the Yellow Lion and are getting closer, trying to cut Hunk off from the others. Pidge must see it too, because she cries out to him. “Hunk, watch out!”

 

The Green Lion dives in front of the distressed lion, using the shield on its back to take the brunt of the gunfire without harming either pilots. Lance lets out a sigh of relief, too far away from the skirmish and glad the others are there for his best friend.

 

Shiro swoops in with his lion next, its mouth shimmering as a jaw blade appears. “Got you covered!” He slices through the line of fighters that had gathered, getting rid of the immediate threat.

 

Hunk laughs in disbelief and sighs over the comms. “Phew! Thanks, guys!”

 

As they finish up the remainder of the fighters, Allura calls for their attention. “Paladins, I need you immediately! Five more ticks and we're finished!”

 

Lance looks up and sees why she sounds urgent. A canon is directing its fire at the castle and though a small portion of the shield is still holding, it flickers and appears to be weakening.

 

“Okay, team.” Shiro acknowledges. “Let’s form Voltron!”

 

The lions come together easily, showing how much they’ve all improved, and Lance relishes in the rush of feeling everyone united, of all of them working together so smoothly. As Voltron, they slam into the ship threatening the castle, Lance and Hunk diverting all of their power to the thrusters to make the repositioning easy. Now freed, the Princess fires on the ship with the castle and destroys it in a gigantic explosion that decimates the remaining Galra fighters in the area.

 

They all cheer. Lance couldn’t wipe the wide grin off his face even if he tried. Having defeated the largest ship, Voltron lands on the Balmera’s surface with the castle descending along with them.

 

“Mission accomplished.” Keith announces. Lance can imagine the satisfied smirk surely resting on his face.

 

“And just in the tick of time. The Castle's defenses are battered and will need to fully recharge.” Allura herself sounds exhausted, but Lance hopes she’s pleased with how they’ve all done today.

 

As if taunting them, Lance can hear alarms sounding on the castle that echo through the comms. “There's an unknown object incoming! It's about to crash into the Balmera!” Coran warns them.

 

A gigantic object that looks like a meteor at first speeds towards the surface not too far from them. As it comes closer, Lance realizes he recognizes it. The meteor looks like what the monster that attacked them on Arus came out of. All of the joy and satisfaction at having won a long bottle drains away when it lands.

 

“What the hell is that?” He exclaims, though somewhere deep down he knows what it must be.

 

Shiro sighs. “Trouble.”

 

“Oh no.” Pidge mutters.

 

“Please tell me there's not a giant monster in there.” Hunk begs. “Please tell me it's empty! Or full of space candy. One of those two. Either one is fine.”

 

Lance wishes Hunk were right, that this was some sort of reward for their victory, but he knows their worst fears are true. “I don't think it's a piñata, Hunk.”

 

“If it's the same kind of monster that attacked us on Arus, we already know how to beat it.” At least Keith is being positive. He summons Voltron’s sword, just like they did in that first battle, and Pidge follows suit by forming the shield.

 

“Hold your ground.” Shiro commands.

 

The pod hisses open and releases a hideous monster, one that looks nothing like the first one they fought and somehow appears even more terrifying. It’s like some sort of squid and lizard monster with extremely long arms wearing sturdy red armor with strange upgrades. It dons something like a headband over its eyes that makes them green and has a matching glowing green whole in the center of its chest. It wastes no time in flying at them, arms outstretched and ready to take out Voltron.

 

Before it hits them, it stop and rears back. The green on its chest glows brighter until firing a large green laser at them. They barely bring up the shield in time and while it holds, the force of the blast pushes them back.

 

“That’s not the same monster!” Lance cries, gritting his teeth at the impact.

 

The canon stops firing, giving them enough time to dodge out of the way of the next attack. The surface of the Balmera looks painful from the canon’s fire, with rock peeled away like scabs and rubble strewn about.

 

“We need to draw its fire away from the Balmera's surface!” Shiro reminds them. He leads them higher, keeping the beast from aiming at the surface and making it follow them until its blasts are too far away to scar the Balmera. Another blast catches up with them, but Pidge is quick to protect them with the shield.

 

Even though he’s not the one bracing it, Lance can tell that shield is close to falling apart. “We can’t hold out!”

 

“My Lion's weakening!” Pidge agrees, sounding strained. Voltron braces itself against the ground, keeping the beam high enough to not hurt the living planet. “If the shield sustains structural damage, we're done for!”

 

“You guys are right!” Keith agrees. His sword is long gone, having realized there is no chance of them getting close enough anytime soon to actually use. His face appears on Lance’s screen, and likely the others as well, and Lance is momentarily distracted by the thin line of Keith’s mouth and the furrow of his brow. Suddenly, Keith’s eyes widen. “Lance, watch your footing!”

 

He catches his error a second too late, trying to compensate with some frantic work with his controls but Voltron still falls, the shield flying away from the force of the canon. Lance feels sheepish as the others groan at the impact.

 

“Okay, Voltron, disband.” Shiro orders.

 

Not needing to be told twice, Lance pulls away from the connection and the others do the same. Now separate, Lance shrugs his shoulders and tries to gather himself. He has a feeling they’re in for a long and hard battle.

 

“Everyone, evasive maneuvers!” Shiro continues. “It can’t shoot us all at once!”

 

As if to spite Shiro, the beast spreads its arms wide and reveals them to be covered in what Lance considers a ridiculous amount of smaller green laser canons. They all fire at once, all of them going in different directions and targeting the lions. Lance has to spin wildly and speed up to avoid them, relying on Blue to let him know when some are getting too close.

 

Shiro sighs, and Lance prays for the guy to catch a break. “Okay, it can do that too.”

 

As the Paladins spin out of control to avoid the heavy fire, the castle appears and fires with its own canon. It responds with its own blast that is much more powerful, and considering how much damage the castle has endured it’s incredible that the shield holds against it.

 

Allura lets out an irritated grunt. “Where does Zarkon get these beasts from? And how do they keep finding us?”

 

“Keith,” Shiro calls over Allura’s frustration. “Try to draw its fire! I'm coming in from above!”

 

“Roger!” Keith acknowledges.

 

In the midst of his dodging, Lance watches as the Red Lion dives down directly in front of the monster, pulling up at the side and firing with the new fiery canon. The Black Lion sneaks in from behind, preparing to strike with its own firepower from above, but the beast’s eye spins around the head and fires on it, leaving Shiro to narrowly escape.

 

“We need to find its blind spot!” Lance tells them, though he’s not sure that one exists with a handy eye like that.

 

“I don't think this thing  _has_  a blind spot.” Pidge points out, voicing Lance’s inner thoughts. “It has a thousand eyes.”

 

The Yellow Lion spins into a wide turn. “Laser eyes, laser eyes!” Hunk reminds them.

 

“What do we do?” Pidge asks, frustrated. “Fighting this thing is like fighting an entire fleet at once!”

 

“I think we've got to aim for those laser eyes and take them out.” Keith suggests. Though the Red Paladin can’t see him, Lance nods furiously in agreement.

 

“We'll cover you from up here!” Allura says, giving the idea her official seal of approval. Lance is still working on the trademark.

 

As soon as the castle fires on the beast, it fires back with ten times the force, making the particle barrier flicker and flash dangerously. Despite her vow to help, their situation looks dire. “We're taking heavy fire up here! We're in trouble!”

 

“Princess, pull back!” Shiro orders. “Get out of its range, now!”

 

“We will not abandon you!”

 

“You're not abandoning us. We're about to pull back anyway.”

 

“We are?” Hunk asks.

 

Though Lance understands the confusion, he gets where Shiro’s coming from. They can’t do anything without regrouping and coming up with a solid plan. Retreating for the time being is their only option.

 

“We can't hold out.” Shiro elaborates. “We have to. Lions, to the mine shafts! It's the only place the monster can't get us.”

 

The castle flies back into orbit, away from the unstoppable beast, and the lions retreat into a couple shafts. Lance flies into the same one as Pidge and her lion, seeing the other three pulling into their own.

 

On the ground again, Lance exits and waits for Pidge to join him so they can strategize with the others. He pulls his helmet off briefly, wiping away the sweat from his face before replacing it and answering a holographic call on his gauntlet. He holds his arm out in front of him as the faces of the others appear, all of them looking tired and worn but not seriously injured. They’re joined by Shay and Rax peeking in at the corner of the screen, looking confused and eager. Pidge comes running down the ramp of the Green Lion and Lance gives her the same once over, letting her push in close so she can see the others on his gauntlet.

 

“What is happening?” Rax asks.

 

“There's a monster up there that Zarkon sent to destroy us.” Keith explains bluntly. While Lance would usually prefer more tactful methods, they don’t really have the time and the Balmerans deserve the truth.

 

“A monster?” Shay clasps her hands in front of her, a worrying gesture that Lance recognizes from Hunk. “Will Zarkon's savagery never abate? Perhaps our people were never meant to be free.”

 

“Shay, don't give up.” Hunk puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. Lance is amazed at how much Hunk has changed since they came to space, since he went to Balmera for the first time. He knows that his friend tends to worry a lot and he’s sure he still feels that way, but maybe he’s found a cause strong enough that he can focus on something more powerful than fear. Hope. “Zarkon's power grows with every planet he conquers, but he's weakened by every being that fights back.”

 

“Fight back? Against a monster like that? How?”

 

“I don't know, but we can beat it.” Hunk assures her. “Tell her, Keith.”

 

Ever the realist, Keith frowns. “Can we?”

 

Lance thinks that maybe Shiro should have been Hunk’s go-to for an optimistic speech, and he sees the shock on Hunk’s face fade as their leader steps in. “Yes, we can! This is our first mission and we're not going to fail. We can beat it. We just need some time to come up with a plan.”

 

Hunk gives a mild glare to Keith, who raises his hands in defense, and smiles at Shay. “See? Told you we can. Thanks, Shiro.”

 

The ground rumbles, some small pebbles bouncing along and a large groan echoes throughout the mine shaft they landed in. He and Pidge look at each other nervously.

 

“Do you guys feel that over there?” Hunk asks them.

 

Lance looks up the walls of the shaft as they shake. “Yeah, we feel it.”

 

“It's that sound again.” Pidge frowns. “What is that?”

 

“That great noise comes from the Balmera itself.” Rax answers, staring mournfully at the ground. “Our home crumbles beneath our feet. The Balmera is dying.”

 

No one has the words to respond to that. As much as Lance wants to tell the Balmerans that everything will be okay, that they can save the planet and its people. But he can’t promise that, even if the words are perched and ready on the tip of his tongue. He doesn’t want to lie to these people after they’ve suffered so much. He’s torn between being brutally honest and giving these people the hope they deserve.

 

“We don’t know how much we can do to save your planet,” Lance says, trying to ignore how everyone is now looking at him. “But we’re going to do everything in our power to keep it safe.”

 

He doesn’t know how effective his tiny little speech is, but Shay and Rax exchange glances that must mean something and Shiro smiles at him. Hunk looks grateful, maybe even more than when Shiro gave them reassuring words, and Lance likes to think that even Pidge’s mood is a little brightened if the straightening of her back is anything to go by. As usual, Lance isn’t exactly sure what Keith is thinking, but a kinder, more hopeful part of him thinks the Red Paladin looks impressed at the very least, inspired at most.

 

Shiro presses a hand to his helmet as he uses his comms. “Coran, Allura, are you there?”

 

“Shiro, we're here.” Allura confirms.

 

“The Balmera-”

 

“We already know.” Coran interrupts solemnly. “Our scanners are showing the life energy draining from the Balmera. We have a scan coming to you right now.”

 

Pidge activates the transmission on her gauntlet, holding the display out so the rest of the team can see it. With his minimal knowledge of the Balmera and practically everything alien, Lance can tell the dark patches spreading across the planet mean nothing good. “How does that happen?”

 

“Removing crystals from a Balmera is like removing a vital part of the mighty beast.” Coran explains. “The Balmera needs time to regenerate itself to stay healthy, but the Galra's greed may have cost this noble Balmera its life.”

 

They’re all silenced at the morbid words, but Hunk is the first to speak up. “So, what's gonna happen?”

 

“Its core will collapse, destabilizing the entire skeletal structure. Anything or anyone remaining on the Balmera at that point will be crushed into dust.”

 

Lance can picture it vividly in his head as Coran speaks. It’s hard to grasp the beautiful core they had encountered turning into the final killing blow for the planet.

 

“How long before its core collapses?” Shiro asks.

 

“Probably a matter of hours. The mighty organism willingly gives itself to all, but not all return its kindness.”

 

“Then our time is short.” Allura adds. Lance wonders how she can work through these hard stakes without them seeming to faze her. With her own planet’s destruction being so fresh in her mind, he guesses that she uses that as motivation rather than something to freeze her with fear. “We'll evacuate the planet. We need to get all the Balmerans to the Castle of Lions before the planet implodes.”

 

“Okay, that sounds like a good plan,” Hunk jumps in. “But how on earth do you plan on landing the Castle with that monster-thingy on the surface?”

 

“You'll need a distraction.” Pidge nods.

 

“We'll engage the beast in our Lions.” Shiro grimaces. Lance isn’t too happy about that either, though he knows another confrontation was inevitable. “With it distracted, Allura and Coran will land the Castle and load all of its citizens.”

 

“Or we could load Balmerans into our Lions a few at a time and shuttle them to the ship.” Lance suggests. “No engaging ferocious laser-eye guy. How long would that take?”

 

“Days?” Coran guesses. “Weeks?”

 

Keith lets out a frustrated growl and though Lance knows it isn’t directed at him, he still flinches at its intensity. “We only have hours.”

 

“Look, we don't need to beat this thing.” Shiro reminds them, trying to keep his team positive at the prospect of facing the monster once more. “We just need to bait it away from the ship. Provoke and evade.”

 

“Okay, here's the thing.” Hunk holds out his hands, gesturing frantically like he does when he’s nervous. “I'm worried that we're going to be really, really good at the provoking part, and then like really bad at the evading part.” He drops his arms and sighs, standing up tall. “But if this is what it takes to save Shay and everyone on the planet, then I'm in.”

 

“Can you contact the other Balmerans?” Keith turns to Shay.

 

The Balmeran clasps her hands together as she answers. “I can, but I know not what they'll say. Leave the planet? Our home?”

 

“It's the only option.” Allura reaffirms. “I'm coming down.”

 

If he had been drinking something at the time, he surely would have spit it out at her words. The other Paladins look equally as shocked at her words. Coran is the first to voice his dissent. “Princess, no! It's too dangerous!”

 

“Someone has to be there to lead these people out.”

 

“You're coming down?” Pidge confirms in disbelief. “That thing will spot your pod and blow it to pieces!”

 

“Let me worry about that. You just focus on keeping the creature distracted.”

 

With their plan discussed and as prepared as possible, they finish their video call and retreat to their lions to battle the beast once more. Lance doesn’t usually consider himself a worrywart, but as he takes his seat in the Blue Lion’s cockpit and ascends to the surface, a thousand images of what could go wrong fly through his head. Them all getting destroyed by the monster and the planet imploding, none of the Balmerans escaping in time, the Princess getting killed before she reaches the surface. His thoughts begin to spiral, only to be halted by Blue. She sends a wave of calm through his mind, a wordless reassurance and show of support that snaps him out of his thoughts. With a shaky breath to steady himself, he speeds up to catch up with the others and approach the beast.

 

Shiro, the noble leader that he is, fires the shot that provokes the monster, making it screech and speed their way faster than something its size should be able to. The Lions remain in formation as the beast gives chase, leading it away from the mine shafts they just left to give Allura an opening.

 

“Okay, we've provoked.” Hunk shouts. “Time to evade!”

 

“Princess, we've lured the monster away.” Shiro informs her. “It's time.”

 

“I'll contact you all when I'm on the ground.”

 

A few moments later, Lance can see a small projectile launching from the Castle, dotted with bits of color. “Is that Allura?”

 

Unfortunately, the beast starts to show interest in her, apparently too bored chasing the Lions for any longer. It stops and turns, ready to fire, and the paladins are too far away to do anything. Thankfully, its first shot goes wide and gives them time to turn back and protect her.

 

“We gotta protect the Princess!” Hunk cries. As the beast fires again, the Yellow Lion jumps in the way and takes the shot hard, though its immense armor means the damage isn’t as bad as it could have been and Lance sighs in relief when Hunk keeps flying.

 

The other lions attack the beast, keeping its attention now that its somehow angrier than before. As Lance shoots at its head and dodges, he prays that Allura’s touched down safely and that’s why he can no longer see where she’s flown.

 

Thankfully, her voice sounds over the comms. “I’m on the ground.”

 

“Hurry!” Shiro urges her, sounding strained. Lance watches the Black Lion barely avoid a canon shot in its direction. “I don't know how long we can hold this thing off.”

 

Now that they have a clear goal to fight towards, this battle feels more intense than their first pass at defeating the monster. It shoots and swipes at them with no sign of stopping and even though they’re just trying to distract the beast, Lance feels drained. He can’t keep track of the many times he gets too close to being shot out of the sky, nor the number of times he slides in at the last moment to help out one of his fellow teammates. No matter what attacks they throw at it, nothing stops its rampage. At least the beast is entirely focused on them, not bothering to break away and wreak havoc on the planet itself.

 

“Paladins, how are you holding up?” Coran eventually checks in, having focused his attention on assisting Allura’s quest to rescue the Balmerans.

 

“I think we've got him pretty distracted.” Keith grunts. Lance sees him fire and dodge at the beast as he speaks. “Are the Balmerans in position?”

 

“They're making their way to the top.” Allura says, sounding exhausted but determined.

 

They go back to their game of hit and dodge. While Lance thought they were actually doing a decent job a few moments ago, he realizes their making a crucial error. Every time they move out of the way of the monster’s canon, the Balmera bears the brunt of that blow.

 

“Every hit weakens the Balmera.” Hunk notes, confirming Lance’s line of thinking. “Have you evacuated yet? What's happening?”

 

“The Balmerans are trapped.” Coran yells, making Lance’s heart sink. “Just keep distracting that beast!”

 

“Uh, do you want us to distract it by  _dying?_ ” Hunk asks frantically. “Because that's what's going to happen!”

 

“Guys, remember when I said we didn't have to beat it?” Shiro says.

 

“Yes, I remember that.”

 

“Well, we might have to beat it.”

 

The beast releases a torrent of lasers from its arms and chest all at once, leaving the paladins to scramble out of the way. Even inside his lion, Lance feels like the heat of the fire is right next to him as its bright green paints the cockpit.

 

“Guys, this isn't working.” Keith points out. Sick and tired of fighting, Lance rolls his eyes at him stating the obvious. “We'll never take this beast down in our Lions.”

 

“Well, forming Voltron didn't work, either.” Pidge adds, sounding just as tired and annoyed as Lance.

 

“Not without some way to shoot all those laser eyes at once.” Lance says.

 

Lance hears muttering over the comms, but he’s too busy dodging another shot to think that much of it. That is, until Hunk starts shouting, sounding weirdly happy considering their current situation. “Guys! Guys, something's happening here! I think there is a way to take down all those laser eyes at once.”

 

“Well, what is it?” Pidge asks impatiently.

 

“Do you remember how Voltron formed that sword with Keith's Bayard?” He continues. “I think my Lion's telling me I can do the same thing with my Bayard.”

 

“Are you sure?” Keith asks.

 

“Let's find out. Form thingy!” Hunk cries, waiting a few seconds before he says something else. “It didn't work!”

 

“Because we didn't form Voltron yet.” Shiro says, but there’s a soft chuckle along with his words.

 

“Oh, right. Yeah, I know.”

 

Lance can’t help but smile for what feels like the first time in years, endeared by Hunk’s enthusiasm.

 

“Guys, whatever we're planning, let's hurry up and do it.” Pidge sounds like the young teenager Lance knows she is at heart, despite how much older she’s always tried to seem.

 

Shiro pushes them along. “We've got to defend the Castle! Everyone, follow me. Form Voltron!”

 

After forming Voltorn for the second time in what must be less than a couple hours, Lance doesn’t feel much more optimistic about it this time around, in spite of Hunk’s eagerness. Still, what else could go wrong. Giving this a shot couldn’t hurt more than everything else the team has tried.

 

But, much like the sensation when Keith first formed the sword, Lance feels a pool of energy forming around Hunk’s lion. Rather than culminating there and staying like it had with Keith’s upgrade, the gathered energy shoots up to Voltron’s shoulder and forms a gigantic laser canon.

 

The beast fires its chest canon, but Hunk fires Voltron’s canon in defense, keeping the shot from hitting the defenseless castle. Surprisingly, the lasers meet in the middle, fighting a battle for dominance it feels like they’re losing.

 

“It’s not enough!” Shiro yells.

 

“We'll have to try something else!” Hunk shouts back. He manages to direct the canon fire so the beast’s laser lands away from the castle.

 

Voltron shoots into the air, keeping the monster’s attention away from the castle. An image pops up on Lance’s dashboard that Blue encourages him to look at. It shows a diagram of the beast’s arms, with the eye-like lasers targeted.

 

“Are you guys seeing this?” Hunk asks.

 

“Roger that.” Keith responds. Lance lets him speak for the rest of them.

 

“Let's see what this thing can do.” Lance can hear Shiro’s smirk. “Engage!”

 

The canon fires, launching tons of small lasers that spin through the air and hit each of the beast’s canons. It’s the closest they’ve come to victory all day.

 

Far below them on the planet, a bright blue glow spreads across the surface then disappears. Distracted by the beautiful sight, Lance only notices the monster is not through with them when Shiro calls for their attention.

 

Probably as done with this fight as everyone else, Keith swings the Red Lion in for a hard punch that knocks the beast to the ground. Finally, it remains still.

 

Lance itches to check and make sure everyone’s safe. Voltron disbands, and the teams flies their lions to the surface and exit to check in on the others. Allura is slumped on the ground, leaning against Shay and looking completely drained, but still somehow satisfied. Coran is at her side, arms twitching like he’s ready to steady her the moment she tips over.

 

“The Balmera is saved.” Allura manages to tell them. Lance guesses the blue glow was her responsibility.

 

Before he can even think of celebrating, a familiar screech echoes over the planet and a tall shadow rises above them. The beast still lives, despite their best efforts, and they aren’t even in their lions anymore. He hears Allura scream in anger and the fearful gasps of his fellow paladins, but all he can think is this is just typical.

 

The beast doesn’t get the chance to destroy them, though. A growl echoes up from the ground that begins to rumble, but instead of collapsing, gigantic crystals burst from the Balmera’s surface and stretch to meet the monster. The monster screams as it’s consumed by the planet it hurt, but eventually it’s silenced and the Balmera settles once more.

 

“No. Way.” Hunk voices all of their thoughts for them. Lance can’t believe what he just saw.

 

“The Balmera just saved us.” Coran gapes.

 

Allura gasps. “Look at the crystals!”

 

Spurred on by its gigantic counterparts, more crystals grow from the surface, creating shining fields that look healthier than anything Lance had seen here. The new growth feels like the hope and feeling Lance wishes he could have given the Balmerans earlier. But maybe they didn’t need them to. They had Hunk, and Allura, and a resilient planet that appears as devoted to its people as they are to it.

 

Hunk kneels on the ground, spreading his palms and…scratching it? “Oh, who's a good Balmera? You are. Who ate the big monster? You did. Yes, you did. Yes, you did.”

 

“Dude, what are you doing?” Keith asks, exchanging confused looks with Lance and Shiro.

 

The Yellow Paladin glares at him, though he quickly smiles back down at the planet. “What? It's alive, and it  _wuvs_  my  _scwatches_.”

 

Keith hits his forehead with his hand. Lance can’t help but agree.

 

Once ensuring the Balmera’s road to recovery and the Balmerans safety, they team is quick to hurry Allura back to the castle to make sure she’ll be okay. Coran’s prognosis of her recovery, given lots of rest, cuts the last of the strings holding the paladins up. Pidge returns to her room, dragging her feet the entire way but promising to actually sleep and not work on her projects. At their insistence, Shiro goes back to his own room to sleep as well, but not before congratulating everyone individually. The pat on the back he gave Lance was probably harder than intended, but Lance wears the potential bruise like a badge of honor. Keith disappears to somewhere, maybe his room but maybe the training deck despite Coran’s lecture about getting proper rest when the Red Paladin announced his initial intention to go there. How Keith could still have the need to fight after the battle they just had, Lance has no clue.

 

It’s late into the Balmera’s night once they’re all situated back on the castle. Lance knows that Hunk has taken Yellow out for one last time before they leave the Balmera. He’d wanted to show Shay her first sunrise and say goodbye. Though his friend is adamant nothing’s happening between them, which Lance respects, Lance also knows there’s a closeness and connection between those two that anything could be made of.

 

As for Lance, he’s somehow still wired up enough to be incapable of sleep at the moment. But watching the sun rise sounds pretty good. He changes into his casual clothes, vowing to shower before he eventually goes to bed, and he heads to the castle’s entrance to catch the sun from the Balmera’s surface.

 

He expects to be alone, knowing for sure that Hunk will take Shay to a better view, but as he shrugs his jacket on and steps back onto the ground, he sees a short lump hunched near the entrance, just out of the castle’s shadow but still drenched in the dark morning dawn. It looks like the Red Paladin had the same idea.

 

Keith looks up as Lance approaches, dark circles under his eyes and a blanket over his shoulders that Lance recognizes as being the standard issue for all their beds. He doesn’t shout or tell Lance to leave, just watches with a slow gaze as Lance walks over and takes a seat on the ground beside him.

 

“Watchin’ the sunrise?” Lance asks.

 

“Yeah, sounded like a pretty good idea coming from Hunk.” He looks away from Lance and smirks at the horizon. “But now…not so much.”

 

It takes a moment for Lance to realize Keith is making a joke. He lets out a shocked laugh. “How rude! If anything, I make this a million times better!”

 

“Sure.” Keith rolls his eyes, but he still has that small smile on his face so Lance doesn’t take real offense.

 

He doesn’t know if he should bring up their conversation from earlier, maybe apologize again and make sure they’re on good terms, but before he decides Keith speaks up. “Did you ever think we wouldn’t win?”

 

Lance thinks on the question for a moment. He wants to say no, that the entire time he never doubted their capabilities, but he gets the feeling that Keith would see right through his lie. “Yeah, for a bit. I wish I could say I was never in doubt, but it wouldn’t be true. There were a few times where I was certain we were done for, like the monster _not dying_ ,” Lance grits his teeth, thinking of the crystallized beast looming on the other side of the castle. “But here we are. How about you?”

 

“I had doubts at times.” Keith admits. A lone breeze blows a stray hair into his eyes, and Lance has the ridiculous urge to put it back in place. “It’s hard not to. We’re all so new and inexperienced, but that didn’t stop us.”

 

“And now this place is free.” Lance nods, glad that he’s not the only one who feels this way. “And we aren’t badly hurt, and look at the planet! It’s already bouncing back!” He takes in the crystals that have grown back, the color that’s returned to the landscape and is starting to be illuminated by the rising sun. He smiles to himself, too open and his guard down, which is probably why he doesn’t think through what he says next. “Besides, there was no way we wouldn’t give up, we are a good team.”

 

Keith’s head snaps to face him, eyes wide. Lance processes his words, blames it on his exhaustion, and does his best to keep his freak out internal and remain calm on the outside.

 

“What did you just say?” Keith whispers.

 

Lance refuses to look at him, instead staring at the way the sun peeks over the sky’s edge. “Uh, nothing, don’t worry about it.”

 

Keith is silent, making Lance think that he may have gotten away with it, until he stands with a swish of his blanket in Lance’s face. “I have to go, I’m really tired.”

 

He retreats up the ramp into the castle, Lance biting his lip as he watches him go with guilt buried in his gut. “You don’t wanna watch the sunrise?”

 

“Not really!” Keith calls back before vanishing.

 

Lance sighs, pulling up his knees and resting his chin on them. The sun’s almost completely up now and though he planned on watching it on his own originally, he didn’t expect it to feel this lonely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think, your comments bring me absolute joy!

**Author's Note:**

> Oof! This'll be a long one, so brace yourselves.
> 
> This is very self indulgent, but I figured I might as well post it. I'll try my best to write consistently and finish this, but school is crazy so expect inconsistent updates.
> 
> Let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoy!


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